Maida Heatter’s Chocolate-marbelized Cheesecake

CHEESECAKE
6 oz Semisweet or bittersweet
-chocolate
12 oz Cream cheese at room
-temperature
1 ts Vanilla extract
1/2 c Sugar
2 lg Eggs
1 pn Salt
1 1/2 c Plus
1/2 c Sour cream

Adapted from: Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts

CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST: Butter only the sides of an 8″x2.5″ or 8″x3″
springform pan, not the bottom. The cookies must be ground to crumbs.
Either break them into pieces and grind them in a food processor with a
steel blade; OR grind them in batches in your blender; OR place in a heavy
plastic bag and pound and roll them with a rolling pin until they are fine.
You should have 1 cup of crumbs.

Mix the crumbs with the melted butter in a bowl, using a rubber spatula
until the butter is evenly distributed. You will think there is not enough
butter, but there is. Pour it into the baking pan and use your fingers to
press it into a compact, even layer on the bottom only. Refrigerate

CHEESECAKE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the chocolate (I do it
in my microwave; it takes about 2 minutes on High, but I stop every 30
seconds to stir it to ensure it doesn’t burn) and set aside to cool
slightly. Beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Add the vanilla and
sugar and beat to mix. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with a
rubber spatula and beating till smooth after each. Then add the salt and 1
1/2 cups of the sour cream and beat till smooth.

Beat the melted chocolate with the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream (you can
use the same beaters you used for the cheese mixture without washing them).
Remove 1 1/2 cups of the cream cheese mixture and beat into the chocolate.

Place the two batters, alternating colors, by spoonfuls over the crust in
the pan. Use the flat side of a table knife to marbelize: cut down through
the batters and use the knife to swirl them into large spirals and/or
zigzags and form an attractive pattern. Don’t overmix or you’ll lose the
contrast.

Briskly rotate the pan a bit first in one direction, then the other, to
level the top. Bake 30 minutes on the lowest rack in your oven. It will
seem soft, but it’s done. Cool on a rack to room temperature, then chill at
least 5-6 hours before serving cold.