Bo’s Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

PREPARE THE BATTER: Place the egg yolks in a food processor for 5
seconds, then add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add the
brown sugar and vanilla and process for several minutes, or until the
batter is very smooth. Beat the egg whites and fold into the cheese
mixture. Set aside.

PREPARE THE CRUST: Soften butter and combine with graham cracker
crumbs. Mix until fully blended, e.g. they will form a ball when
squeezed in your hand or by a spoon. Pat the crust into the sides and
bottom of a springform pan about 9 inches in diameter.

Spread a generous layer of chips on the bottom of the pan, and then
pour the batter into the pan. Add another generous layer of chips to
the top of the cake.

Place the filled pan into the preheated oven. Baking time will vary
from about 30 minutes to 2 hours. Cooking time depends on whether
you want a soft, gooey “New York” style cheesecake (shorter) to a
fluffy “souffle”-like cheesecake (longer). The longer you cook it,
the fluffier it gets.

When the cake starts to rise like a souffle, start checking to see if
it is done. It will just about double in volume, and should not flow
over the sides of the pan. If the cake shimmers like Jello when
shaken, it is done. Alternatively, if a knife inserted comes out
clean, the cake is overcooked: the knife should be very lightly
coated with batter.

NOTES:

* A truly decadent chocolate chip cheesecake — This recipe came to
me from a friend of mine, Bo (pronounced “boo”) Ture Ahlberg, who
would occasionally (read “whenever we could persuade him”) bring it
into work. Needless to say, it would be snarfed up immediately.

* Bo prefers to use Nestle Mini-Morsel chocolate chips.

: Difficulty: easy to moderate.
: Time: 15 minutes preparation, up to 2 hours cooking.
: Precision: measure the ingredients.

: Daniel P. Faigin
: System Development Corporation, Santa Monica CA
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