Mocha Layered Cheesecake (Easy)

What a rich and delicious treat!  I would say slicing a two bean slice for a slice is just enough, three beans and you may not be able to eat the entire slice.  What I mean by 2 bean and 3 bean is the distance of the chocolate covered coffee beans on this cheesecake.  It kind of slipped out when I was cutting a slice for my sister and she started laughing and so did my husband so that became the joke in our house but after thinking about it it really is a good way to know how much to eat at once.  This cheesecake serves 16 if not more.  It is great to bring to a party because there is plenty to go around.  I made this cheesecake for Christmas dessert this year and I am very happy with myself for making such a great choice! 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Layered-Mocha-Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules ( I used decaf)
• 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups (12 ounces, it is then entire bag) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled (I microwaved in a glass bowl for 1 minute 30 seconds, no longer on high, the chips will not look melted when done but don't let that fool you into thinking they are not melted on the inside, once you start stirring them they will melt in the bowl)

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Chocolate-covered coffee beans, optional (I found these at HEB and Publix carries them as well)

Directions:

• Place greased 9-in. spring form pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan.(This is because the spring form pan could allow water to seep in underneath during the baking process) (picture below)
• Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom of prepared pan.(I pulverized my Oreo cookie crumbs, white middles and all, in food processor and then drizzled the melted butter in after they were crushed and then pulsed it again to blend the butter and cookie crumbs. I then poured them out into my spring form pan and patted them down.) (If you do not have a food processor you can blend so many Oreoes at a time in a blender and pour them out into a large bowl until you have blended what you need, then pour the melted butter in and stir to blend.) In a small bowl, combine the coffee granules, water and cinnamon; set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
• Divide batter in half. Stir melted chocolate into one portion; pour over crust. Stir coffee mixture into the remaining batter; spoon over chocolate layer. Place spring form pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.(This is called a water bath, it is to protect the cheesecake from drying out while baking and cracking on top, that is why you need to cover the outside bottom with aluminum foil.)
• Bake at 325° for 60-65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove spring form pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake. Garnish with coffee beans if desired. (I did this all before I refrigerated it over night, I waited the one hour for it to cool then glazed it and decorated it with the coffee beans.) Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 16 servings.

I almost used the entire bag of Oreoes, maybe just left out about 10-15 from the package. I used my food processor to crush them up.

I added the melted butter and then pulsed it a few times to blend it in.

My spring form pan sprayed with some cooking spray and then the Oreo crust mixture pressed on the bottom.

One long sheet of aluminum foil folded in half for double protection to keep the water from seeping in from the bottom while it bakes in its water bath.

I just bought a small decaf instant coffee for this recipe. This way kids can eat it too. The parents can just pick off the chocolate covered coffee beans from their child's slice and not worry too much about all that caffeine.

This is the instant coffee, cinnamon, and hot water that will flavor one of the layers of the coffee cake.

The cream cheese batter, it really does make a huge bowl of batter!

Try to separate the big bowl of cheesecake batter as evenly as you can as you will be flavoring each bowl differently.

The coffee/cinnamon layer(on the right) and the chocolate layer(on the left).

Getting ready to be baked. See why you need the foil on the bottom? It is to keep the water that will go on the baking sheet from seeping in and ruining your cheesecake and keep the cheesecake from drying out and cracking.

Fully baked, beautiful, and no cracks!

I melted the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and butter separately and then combined them to make the glaze.

Once I melted both items separately I mixed them together to blend and make the glaze.

Chocolate covered coffee beans and the glaze for the top of the cheesecake.

Look at how pretty that looks after removing the spring form pan! Time for the glaze and coffee beans!

The completely beautiful finished product!

My first slice and as you can see it is a 3-bean slice and that was when I discovered that a 3-bean slice was too much for me to eat.