Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake

Oh, be still, my heart.

This is almost too rich to handle.  Definitely not for the faint of heart.

(and, um, definitely not for the lactose-intolerant like me.  Thank God for Lactaid pills!)

But...wow!  Ready to knock some socks off?

This recipe is super easy (and I partially winged it, so anyone can do it!)

I made this to celebrate Jesse and my 3rd wedding anniversary.  It was a big hit :-)

Ready?  Here we go!

Ingredients

♥1 1/2 c. (about 18) finely crushed creme-filled chocolate cookies
♥2 tbsp. butter, melted
♥4 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
♥1 1/4 c. sugar
♥3 eggs
♥1 c. sour cream
♥1 tsp. vanilla
♥1/3 c. seedless raspberry preserves
♥12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate pieces (you will melt 6oz at a time)
♥1 pint raspberries

Preheat your oven to 325* and set your cream cheese out to soften.  While this is going on, get started on your chocolate cookie-crumb crust.

Count out 23 oreos and put 18 of them in a ziplock bag.  The rest are for you :-)

Take a rolling pin and flatten the life out of those cookies.  Add 2 T of  melted butter to the crumbs, and mix well.

Pour the crumbs into a greased springform 9in diameter pan.

Use a fork or the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumbs firmly to the bottom of the pan.  You really want them packed in there so that your crust doesn't crumble when you try to make the first cut!

Now, get started on the cheesecake filling.

Combine 3 of the cream cheese packages with the sugar and mix until it's nice and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, and then the sour cream and vanilla (I had to snap a picture of the top of my Daisy sour cream, because it reminded me of our first anniversary ♥)

Pour the filling into the pan, and get started on the good stuff.

In a double boiler (I just layered a small pot on top of a larger pot of boiling water), melt 6 ounces of chocolate and mix it into the remaining package of cream cheese.  Add the raspberry preserves, and enjoy the rich, chocolatey goodness that fills your kitchen.  Once it's thoroughly mixed, drop the chocolate cream cheese batter by the spoonful on top of the plain cream cheese batter.

Stick that sucker in the oven and put your timer for one hour and twenty minutes.  It will be the longest of your life :-)

When you take it out, gently loosen the sides and let it cool.

Time to work on the chocolate glaze!

Back to the double boiler.  The recipe I was using said to mix the melted chocolate with 1/4 cup of whipping cream.  It didn't work when I tried (maybe you'll have more success), so I mixed the melted chocolate with another 1/3 cup of raspberry preserves.  I liked adding the extra berry flavor to the top, and it made it pretty and smelled delicious.  Quickly, before the chocolate cools, drizzle it over the top of the cheesecake.

Now you can add raspberries to the top, some whipped cream if you're so inclined, and sit back, relax, and enjoy!

♥Bethany