Chocolate Toffee Cheesecake

You are probably wondering about the funny symbol in middle of my Chocolate Toffee Cheesecake.

Today, is March 14th and officially named Pi Day. With an undergraduate degree in mathematics, I just had to celebrate it in my cooking. This year, Pi Day is extra special. At 9:26:53 am, we celebrate the first 10 digits of Pi – March 14, 2015, 9:26:53 = 3.141592653

To learn more about Pi Day check out this website:

http://www.piday.org/

Chocolate Toffee Cheesecake is a decadent dessert. A chocolate cookie crumb crust is topped with a cheesecake filling that has been infused with bittersweet chocolate and then topped with toffee bits that swirled into the top.

This year, I saved some of the buttered chocolate crumbs and inserted a chocolate Pi symbol in the middle of the cheesecake.

Enjoy!

Print recipe

Serves	12
Inspiration	Food and Drink March 2015

Ingredients

4oz bittersweet or dark chocolate (chopped)
1/2 cup milk
2 250 gm pkg cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 Large egg
1 Tsp vanilla
1/3 cup Skor toffee bits

Crust

12 - 13 chocolate wafer cookies (to edge the pie)
25 - 30 chocolate wafer cookes (about 1 1/4 cups crumbs)
3 Tbsp melted butter

Directions


Separate out 12 or 13 whole chocolate wafer cookies. Place the 25 - 30 chocolate wafer cookies in a large clear plastic bag (or between two sheets of wax paper). Roll the chocolate wafer cookies with a rolling pin. Use a fair bit of pressure, pounding slightly to break down the cookies. You could also use a food processor, but leave them coarse.

Mix the chocolate crumbs with the 3 tbsp of melted butter. Place the remaining buttered crumbs on the bottom of the spring form pan. Arrange the 12 whole cookies around the edge of the pan.

Combine the chocolate and half of the milk in a heatproof bowl. Set over a steamer or saucepan of hot (not boiling water) and heat until the chocolate is melted, stirring until smooth. Set it aside to cool.

If the cream cheese is not a room temperature, soften for about 1 1 1/2 minutes at power 2 (or lowest) of microwave. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in remaining milk, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Transfer 1/2 cup to another bowl and stir in the toffee bits; set aside.

Beat the melted chocolate into the large bowl of filling.

Spoon chocolate filling over the crust and smooth. Spoon the toffee filling over the top of the cake. Swirl with a toothpick or wooden skewer.

Bake in a preheated 325 deg F oven for 45 - 55 minutes or just until it has puffed in the center.

Refrigerate until cold. It tastes better if you take it out of the fridge about a half an hour before you wish to serve it. You may wish to serve it topped with some fresh fruit.