I thought I snagged this recipe from Bon Appetit years ago. When I looked it up I discovered it looks almost nothing like theirs. Even thought I modified completely I’m going to credit them for the idea. It really is a killer cheesecake.It should be made one day ahead of time to give the ganache time to set. And remember, cheesecakes are done when the center of the cake is still wiggly, not set. If you bake it too long it will crack.
Crust -- 1.5 sleeve whole graham cracker 1 stick butter melted -- Filling -- 24 ounces cream cheese 3- 8 ounce packs 7 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon flour all-purpose 2 large eggs 1/4 cup Baileys' Irish Cream 2 tablespoons Baileys' Irish Cream 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract -- Ganache -- 1/2 cup whipping cream 8 ounces semisweet chocolate
DIRECTIONS--
Crust -- Heat oven to 350F. Finely grind graham crackers in food processor adding butter till combined. Press into bottom of 9" spring form pan. Bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Filling -- With blender mix room temperature cream cheese and sugar till smooth. Beat in flour. Add eggs one at a time beating till just combined. Mix in rest of ingredients. Pour into crust and bake 10 minutes at 350F then reduce temp to 250F. Bake until set, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Run sharp knife around edge of pan to loosen.
Glaze -- Simmer cream in heavy medium size sauce pan. Reduce heat to low and add chopped chocolate stirring till melted. Let cool to luke warm. Release pan from sides of cake, remove and place cake on wire rack. Place aluminum foil or wax paper under rack to catch drippings. Pour glaze over cheesecake allowing excess to run over sides. With the back of spoon swirl the chocolate from center outwards to coat entire cake. Let cheesecake cool completely, overnight is best then dust with confectioners sugar for effect.