Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake With Dark Rum


Crust:

• 2 cups chocolate cookies
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar

Espresso Chocolate Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons espresso powder (you can use instant coffee)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 pound chocolate melted, bittersweet chocolate should be cooled to warm
• 4 eggs

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, grind the chocolate cookies and hazelnut with the sugar into a coarse crumb. Add the melted butter and combine. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes until set and place on a rack to cool. Once the crust is cool, wrap the outside of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil to seal it. To make the water bath for baking the cake, place the spring form pan in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with water until it reaches half way up the side of the spring form pan.
For the Espresso Chocolate Cream, heat 1/2 cup cream and add cocoa, espresso and salt. Whisk until smooth, let cool and add remaining cream and rum. Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Mix in melted chocolate and, once incorporated, add espresso cream mixture. Mix thoroughly, making sure there are no clumps. Add eggs 1 at a time. Pour mixture into crust resting in the water bath. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes and then turn off oven and leave cake in for another hour. Cool and chill, at least overnight.