Adventures in all things food: Tiramisu Cheesecake

Do you like cheesecake?

Well, with National Cheesecake day today, it is a great reason to grab a slice of your favorite, creamy, rich cheesecake. My husband is a traditionalist and is happy with plain cheesecake. Really, it is all he ever orders if we decide to splurge on dessert. I am, on the other hand, someone who likes variety.

Growing up, cheesecake was for special occasions only. I don't think my Mom ever made one for us at home. Instead we would select our favorite varieties out of the Fred Meyer deli section. They were all wrapped as individual slices and we could each pick out our own. I didn't like to choose the same one twice. But, I did always love swirls of flavors and colors.

I have always loved the flavor of coffee, so choosing a favorite flavor to create for National Cheesecake day had to be both swirled and touched with the flavor of coffee. So, why not Tiramisu?

Besides the coffee, I am also smitten with the crust of this cheesecake. For this recipe I used Biscoff cookies. Sometimes used in place of peanut butter, Biscoff spread actually tastes buttery with a hint of caramel. You can also pick up hints of cinnamon and graham. The spread is made of Biscoff cookies, so using it for the crust gives the same lovely texture of graham crackers with a whole new depth of flavor.

Creating this crust took almost an entire package of cookies. There were just enough left over to share with the kids while the crust was baking in the oven.

I chose to make my cheesecake in a water bath. I like this method because there is plenty of moisture in the oven and the top doesn't dry out. It is so worth the extra time needed to bake!

Just wrap foil around the bottom of the springform pan to keep out any moisture. Pour the cheesecake onto the pre-baked cookie crust then carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan around it.

Ready to bake your Tiramisu Cheesecake?

Tiramasu Cheesecake

You Will Need:

22 Biscoff cookies, pulsed into crumbs
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
4 tsp. espresso powder
1 tsp. rum flavoring*
1 tsp. coffee flavoring*
1 tsp. Irish cream flavoring*
3- 8oz. blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 c. + 4 tsp. heavy cream

*Instead of flavorings you can also use 2 1/2 Tbsp. Kahlua and 3/4 Tbsp. Baileys*

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a springform pan with a cake parchment. Set aside.

Mix the cookie crumbs with melted butter. Press evenly into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for about 8 minutes until the crust is golden and starts to smell like fresh baked cookies. Remove from the oven to cool.

In a small saucepan combine the espresso powder and flavorings. Warm slowly to completely dissolve the coffee, but do not let it boil. Set aside to cool. Bring a kettle of water to boil on the stove while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Once the pan is cool enough to touch, wrap the bottom in aluminum foil and set in the bottom of a large roasting pan. The pan should fit easily inside.

Then start beating the room temperature cream cheese in a stand mixer on medium-high speed. Add the sugar and beat thoroughly for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides several times. Then add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixer followed by the heavy cream. Once the batter is smooth, pour in a little of the cooled coffee mixture and flip the switch on and off quickly. You don't want it to be fully incorporated. Fold in the remaining coffee mixture leaving large ribbons of coffee visible. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Place the roasting pan with cheesecake inside the oven. Then immediately pour boiling water from the kettle into the roasting pan. Take care not to splash the cake. Close the oven door and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Then turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool inside the oven for another hour. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Enjoy!