Saint Patrick's Day Recipes
Irish Coffee Cheesecake
It's a cheesecake with blarney—a creamy, thick sweet on a spiced-oatmeal crust.
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Ingredients
- 22 crisp oatmeal cookies
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur or milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso coffee powder
- 1/3 cup Irish whiskey or milk
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso coffee powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Chocolate coffee beans or mocha beans
Instructions
- For crust, lightly butter a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside.
- In a food processor bowl, process cookies until finely crushed (should have 2 cups crumbs). Add butter, the 1 tablespoon brown sugar and the cinnamon; process until mixture is combined. (Or crush cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.) In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs with the 1 tablespoon brown sugar and the cinnamon. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture is well mixed.)
- Press the crust mixture onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side of the prepared pan. Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 8 minutes or until firm. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and the 1 cup brown sugar with electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs all at once and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Stir in liqueur or milk and vanilla extract. Dissolve the 2 tablespoons espresso coffee powder in Irish whiskey or milk. Add to cream cheese mixture; stir until just combined. Pour into cooled crust.
- Bake in a 350 degrees F oven about 50 minutes or until center appears nearly set when you shake it.
- Remove from oven. Cool for 15 minutes.
- Loosen crust from side of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more; remove side of pan. Cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill at least 6 hours.
- For topping, dissolve the 1 teaspoon espresso coffee powder and the 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in the 1 tablespoon whipping cream.
- In a medium bowl, beat the 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until stiff peaks form (peaks stand straight). Fold in espresso mixture. Spread on top of chilled cheesecake. Garnish with chocolate coffee beans.
- Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
Attribution
Midwest Living