Irish Cream Cheesecake

This Irish Cream Cheesecake was my first attempt at making real cheesecake, not something from a box or a too easy no-bake cheese cake.  I made it for my husband’s birthday and of course his folks were coming for dinner,  so the pressure to impress the in-laws was on.  Miraculously, I manged to pull it off without cracking the cake.  To say I impressed myself would be, well, an understatement.

It’s no secret that cheesecake can be difficult, but if you are daring it can come out really well.

Irish Cream Cheesecake

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1hour and 20 minutes

Ready in:  9 hours and 20 minutes

You need 1 9 inch spring form pan for this recipe.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup butter (melted)

3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese softened

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

For the crust:  In a large bowl mix the cookie crumbs, confectioner’s sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add the melted butter and stir til well mixed. Pat into the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes then set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees ( 230 degrees C)

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white sugar, flour and 1/4 cup cocoa. Beat at a medium speed until well blended and smooth. One at a time add the eggs, mixing well after each one. On a low speed blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur. Poor over the baked crust.

Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temp to 250 and bake for another 60 minutes.

When you remove it, loosen the cake from the rim of the pan with a knife. Let it cool and remove the rim.  Chill before serving. If it cracks on you, you can take a damp spatula and smooth the crack then dust with chocolate cookie crumbs.

You can serve this with some fresh whipped cream or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  It is really good!