I made one of these for a close friend's birthday last weekend. Not an
original idea, but I blended a couple of recipes, added some personal
touches, and came up with the following -- it was soooo good:

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/2 C. chocolate graham cracker crumbs*
2 T. sugar
1/4 C. butter, melted

*Note: Use your favorite cookie/graham cracker crumb if desired;
adjust amount of sugar in crust to sweetness of crumbs.

Filling:

3 packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs, room temp (about 30 minutes)
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips**
1/4 C. whipping cream
1/3 cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

1 1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips**
1/4 C. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

**Note: I use half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Crust: Preheat oven to 375° F. In small, flat bowl, combine crumbs
and sugar with a fork. Slowly add melted butter and mix well. Cut a
piece of baking/parchment paper to make a disk that fits the bottom
of a 9" springform pan. Scoop crumbs into pan, covering paper
completely. Using a cold metal spoon, pat firmly into bottom and
1/2 of the way up the sides of pan. Set aside.

Filling: In large mixing bowl, mix eggs and vanilla. Put sugar and
cocoa into a strainer and sift into bowl, stirring between additions.
Add eggs and cream cheese; stir until slightly blended. Set aside.

In small saucepan, combine cream and chocolate chips. Heat slowly,
so chocolate melts without burning, stirring often.

With rotary beater or electric mixer, beat cream cheese mixture on
medium speed until satiny. Slowly add melted chocolate cream and
continue beating until just blended. Pour into crust.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, raise oven to 475° F. Return cake to oven and bake an
additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool in pan while preparing topping.

Topping: In small saucepan, combine cream and chocolate chips. Heat
slowly, so chocolate melts without burning, stirring often. Once
melted, add vanilla and mix well. Pour gently over cheesecake, taking
care to cover outer edges.

Allow cake to cool in pan to room temperature, then cover tightly
with foil and chill 10-12 hours before serving. Gently remove ring
from pan, loosening sides of cake with a knife if necessary. Scoot
cake off of pan bottom onto serving plate by holding edge of baking
paper, then pull out paper. Brush away crumbs and garnish as desired.

Garnish ideas: Whipping cream flowers and red candy hearts or mini
chocolate kisses; whipping cream edging with shaved chocolate bits.

--
Jani in WA