November 23, 2015
Recipe and photos courtesy of Peaceful Bend Vineyards.
Prep time: 45 min, Cook time: 1 hr 30 min, Total time: 2 hrs 15 min
Serves: 12
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 12 oz. box of gingersnap cookies
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling:
- ½ cup Norton wine
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup unflavored Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- fresh raspberries for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Add a large bowl or pan of hot water to the bottom rack of the oven. Butter a springform pan.
- Place half the gingersnap cookies in a food processor or large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them finely.
- Mix the butter, sugar and ground cinnamon together with the cookie crumbs until the crumbs are moistened.
- Spread the cookie mixture uniformly on the bottom of the springform pan and press down creating an even, packed layer of crumbs. Set aside.
- Melt chocolate chips in a microwave or in the top of a double boiler. Stir in the heavy cream until smooth. Set aside to cool a bit.
- Cream the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and well incorporated together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth in between each egg. Add the chocolate mixture and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and the yogurt and stir until smooth. Add the wine, salt, and vanilla and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the springform pan, completely covering the crust.
- Place the springform pan on a rack in the middle of the oven, above the steaming water pan. Bake for 45 minutes. The edges of the cheesecake should be cooked, but the center will still be jiggly. Turn off heat, crack the oven door, and allow to cool in the oven for another 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow to cool on the countertop until you can handle the pan. Cover the cheesecake and chill for 12 hours in the refrigerator.
- Before taking the cheesecake out of the pan, run a warm, dry knife along the edge between the cake and pan. Carefully remove the outer sides and garnish the cake with the raspberries and extra gingersnap cookies. Serve each slice with an extra cookie or two on the side.
Notes
Feel free to substitute chocolate cookie or graham crackers for the gingersnap cookies.