DIY Polka Dots Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust

1 cup Graham crumbs

¼ cup cocoa

2 tbsp sugar

¼ cup melted butter

Filling

16 oz softened cream cheese

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 oz dark chocolate, melted 

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Grease a 7 X 7 inch square pan and line it with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the graham crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and melted butter and press into the pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add the sugar.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time on low speed.  Add vanilla and sour cream.  Scrape the sides of the bowl one more time and beat until smooth.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheesecake filling and set aside.

Melt the 2 oz of dark chocolate in a bain marie (a bowl placed over a pot of barely simmering water), or in a microwave on low temperature.  Stir the melted chocolate into the reserved 1/2 cup of cream cheese filling.  

Pour the plain batter into the pan, smoothing out to the edges.  To make the dots you will need a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.  Fill the pastry bag with the chocolate cheesecake mixture.  Gently press the tip of the bag into the smoothed out plain cheesecake and squeeze the bag forming a dot.  Place dots all over the cheesecake until the chocolate mixture is used up.  

Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 1 hr.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.   Freeze if you wish for about 1/2 hour before cutting.  Use a knife dipped in hot water to help when cutting.

References from: Bakers Daughter