THE MAGAZINES IN THE CHECK-OUT LANES!!

I love looking at the desserts on the front of those magazines in the check-out lanes, but I'm too tight to spend the money on them.  I would only buy it for that one recipe and then the rest would be tossed.  I don't read magazines, and I'm not one to sit and leaf through one as a way to relax.  SO, when I see a picture of a dessert that I would like to make, I make note of the name of the dessert and the magazine in which I saw it, then I go home and GOOGLE it.  (I know the magazine companies don't like to hear that, so please don't tell on me.)


I usually luck out and find what I'm looking for.  This cheesecake is near the top of the list of my personal favorites.  It has a chocolate layer, a coffee layer, and then it is covered in a chocolate glaze - YUMMY!!!   I saw it on the front of Taste of Home magazine.  I lucked out and found the recipe online when I got home from drooling over it in the check-out line.  
If you are a mocha lover you will have to give it a try!!  

This recipe called for using cream filled cookies for the crust.  I NEVER use cream filled cookies for a crust.  I did that once and that was enough.  The cream filling melted and oozed out of my spring-form pan and coated the bottom of my oven.  When I ran the self-cleaning cycle on my oven the smell was almost enough to asphyxiate everyone in the house!  And getting the cheesecake crust off of the spring-form pan bottom was nearly impossible.  So now I use chocolate graham crackers whenever a recipe calls for cream filled cookies.  

Here is a link to the original recipe - Layered Mocha Cheesecake.

LAYERED MOCHA CHEESECAKE

(with my revisions)

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 5 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar

Filling

• 2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
• 1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
• 1 Tbsp. boiling water
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• (4) 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Glaze

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• chocolate covered coffee beans (optional)

1. Combine crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto the bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine the coffee granules, water and cinnamon; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth.
4. Add eggs one at a time; beat on low speed just until combined. 
5. Stir in vanilla.
6. Divide batter in half.
7. Stir melted chocolate into one portion; pour over crust.
8. Stir coffee mixture into the remaining batter.
9. Spoon coffee mixture over chocolate layer.
10. Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull.  Watch carefully – everyone’s oven is a little different!!  
11. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
12. Refrigerate overnight.
13. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with coffee beans if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

 You can almost taste the mocha goodness, can't you?