A Gilt Nutmeg

In trying to pick this week’s PPQ recipe, I chose these little cake loaves thinking they might be nice for Mother’s Day Brunches.  What I didn’t realize was that I might come across one of my new favorite recipes from The Pastry Queen.  These little loaves are super moist yet they have a great crunchy-chewy crust and the nutty spicy apple flavor is just phenomenal.  The cakes are not too sweet and perfect for any time of the day…which is bad news for me because it means I’ll be eating them morning, noon and night if I can.  You can bake it as one big cake instead, but mini loaf pans are super cheap at Sur la Table and I think they’re totally worth the few dollars investment (especially around the holidays).

I only made two changes to Rebecca’s original recipe: first, since I had limited time and only 2 loaf pans, I made a half recipe.  The Boyfriend loves spice more than anything so I dutifully used the original cinnamon and nutmeg measurements instead of halving them and they turned out so well that I will absolutely be doubling the amount when I make a full sized batch next time.  I almost worry about the lack of spicy flavor there could have been if I had followed the original recipe.  Second, I didn’t feel like hunting down a bottle of Calvados (an apple brandy), so instead of the 1 Tablespoon of Calvados, I subbed 1 Tablespoon of apple juice and 1 Tablespoon of normal brandy and just let it boil off a little longer.  I think the result was just as good as the original.

Really, I can’t say enough about how much I love this recipe.  It strikes exactly the right chord of sweetness, crunch, nuttiness, and soft moist cake texture.  Since we finished the two mini loaves I made today for Mother’s Day within minutes, I am absolutely coming home from the office tomorrow and using up the rest of my apples on another batch.

Be sure to check out the other Project Pastry Queen-ers versions here!

Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Apple-Brandy Glaze
Adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather
Makes 5 Mini Loaves

Loaves:

• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 large apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Granny Smith apples)
• 1 cup pecans

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp apple juice
• 1 Tbsp brandy

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 5 miniature loaf pans (sized approximately 6″ x 4″ x 2″) and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture until fully incorporated.
5. Rebecca helpfully pointed out that the batter will be very stiff at this point, not very liquid, so it will be a little difficult to mix in the apples and pecans, but it works.  I didn’t want to use my stand mixer in case it broke up the apples into mush, so I pulled the bowl off the mixer and stirred the apples and pecans in by hand with a wooden spoon.  Mix in until they’re evenly distributed.
6. Press the batter into the loaf pans so that the pans are about 3/4 full and smooth the tops out with the back of the spoon.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes; an inserted toothpick should come out clean and they should be a light golden brown on top.
8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then take the loaves out of the pan and let them finish cooling on a wire rack.
9. While the cakes are cooling, melt the butter in a small saucepan whisk in the brown sugar, corn syrup, apple juice and brandy.  Let it simmer for 5 minutes so it can thicken and then spoon a couple of spoonfuls of the glaze over each loaf.
10. Let the cakes fully cool and the glaze dry for at least an hour before wrapping them–if they even last that long!  Enjoy!

At the office, since Cinco de Mayo fell on a Saturday, we had a little Ocho de Mayo celebration yesterday instead.  In trying to decide what to bring, the idea of Mexican Wedding Cookies floated into my head and then that idea stuck and wouldn’t let go and then there was just no turning back because I love these cookies and couldn’t bear not to make them at this point!  And then last night, after our celebration, I had to tell The Boyfriend that there was good news and there was bad news:  The good news is that I saved a cookie for him.  The bad news was that I ate ALL THE REST of the leftover cookies.    Oops.

These cookies are satisfyingly crunchy and surprisingly flavorful, but you do have to eat them over the sink unless you’re okay with powdered sugar going EVERYWHERE.  It’s worth it, in my opinion.  They’re some of my favorites!

Mexican Wedding Cookies
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Makes between 2-3 dozen

• 16 Tbs (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar + 1 cup confectioner’s sugar for dusting later
• 1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups blanched almonds, ground in a food processor until it looks like coarse cornmeal

1. On high speed, beat the butter in a mixer until it is very light yellow and very fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Reduce speed to medium and add the confectioners sugar to the butter, mixing until thoroughly incorporated, then switch the speed to low and add the vanilla and salt, again mixing until incorporated.
3. With a fine sieve, sift the flour and cinnamon into the butter mixture, then mix in to batter on low speed (or else it’ll pouf all over your kitchen!).
4. Add the almonds to the mixture and beat on low speed until those are mixed in.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.  The goal is to chill the dough so that it is firm and no longer sticky, but not yet hard.
6. Heat the oven to 350 degrees while the dough is chilling.
7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and scoop up chilled dough in balls approximately 1″ or 1 1/2″ wide and roll them in your palms to make the balls smooth.  The bigger the cookie, the fewer you’ll have and vice versa.  My cookies were about 1 1/2″ wide and I ended up with about 30 cookies.
8. Place the cookies in rows, about 1-2″ apart and bake for 12-15 minutes.  The cookies will not look done on top (they’ll stay white), but you can roll one or two over to look at the bottoms–they should be starting to turn golden brown.  The cookies will also be almost firm if you poke one, but I find that the brown color underneath is the best indicator of doneness.
9. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and in the meantime add that extra 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar to a bowl.
10. When the cookies have cooled for a little while, roll them in the powdered sugar and put them back on the racks.  The powdered sugar on the cookies will get a little sticky, but let the cookies cool some more and roll them again.  Set them back on the racks and wait a few hours before giving the cookies their final roll in the sugar.  You want them good and coated!
11. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!  (over a plate or the sink or a napkin, that is)

Lots of people tell me that baking is hard for them, but I’m always right there assuring them it’s not as hard as it seems.  With baking being so daunting, many people are only willing to attempt the back of a cake mix box; “Add”, “Stir”, “Bake”.  This recipe has just a few extra steps beyond that and it looks beautiful, but guess what?  It’s the first recipe a child in France is given to try.  If they can do it, you certainly can too, right?

The cake itself is very close to a pound cake–a close cousin, if you will–yet with a distinctly lighter texture and a very bright tangy lemon and yogurt flavor.  It’s perfect for spring and the various brunches that are always popping up around this time.  Make it for friends, or, if yours is a family that enjoys baking regularly, give it to your child to try making on their own.  It’s the French way, after all!

**Edit: I made this cake Thursday night and just got home today, Friday, from work to find nothing but CRUMBS.  Between me, The Roommate and The Boyfriend, this cake was clearly a huge winner–lasting less than 24 hours has to be a sign!

French Yogurt Cake
Adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2012

Considering Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are one of my favorite cookies of all time, I had a suspicion that these crisps from The Pastry Queen might be particularly up my alley–and I was right!  These are deliciously oaty and brown sugary and (thanks to the incorrect assumption that I had corn syrup at home) full of honey flavor.  These remind me of my favorite crunchy granola bars and, truthfully, I don’t think these even need chocolate on top, which is why I just drizzled it on instead of making one thick layer of it–and when I make them again I won’t even add the chocolate.  I can’t wait to make another batch just to crumble over yogurt or ice cream!

Thanks to Missy for choosing this week’s recipe and check out the other PPQ members versions here!

Oatmeal Crisps
Yields one 9×13″ pan
Adapted from The Pastry Queen

•  1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar and honey until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
3. With a wooden spoon in a large bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, salt and coconut; stir in the butter mixture until the dry ingredients are fully coated in the liquid ingredients.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and, with the back of the wooden spoon, pat the mixture into a flat, even layer in the dish.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes and take the dish out to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.  When you pull the dish out, the mixture will still be liquid, but it will harden and crisp as it cools.
6. After cooling for 2o minutes, line a cutting board with wax paper or parchment paper.  Lay the cutting board over the top of your glass dish (papered side facing the cooled oatmeal mixture), then flip the pan over so that the oatmeal mixture lays flat on the papered cutting board.  With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, gently cut the oatmeal slab into bars.  The bars will be fragile and will stretch a little bit; just push them back into shape with your fingers.  If you are planning on drizzling chocolate over the bars, leave them on the parchment paper while you melt the chocolate.
7. If you choose to drizzle chocolate over the bars, set a large pot of water simmering and in a metal bowl placed over the pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate chips.  Once the chocolate is melted, drizzle it in a thin stream back and forth over the bars.  Let the chocolate cool and harden completely.
8. My only warning is that humidity will turn these bars soft, but they will still be delicious.  Store them in an air-tight container until you’re ready to eat.  Enjoy!

When my sister started eating rice pudding, I was thoroughly grossed out; I couldn’t think of anything that looked more unappetizing, except maybe tapioca.  Then, a few years ago, my favorite Indian restaurant in all of Los Angeles (Anarkali, on Melrose, for those locals reading) set a little dish of rice pudding in front of me as a little complimentary sweet to end the meal with and my whole view on rice pudding changed.

Looking back, I can’t imagine why I would be turned off by a recipe that centers on my favorite spices and now rice pudding is by far one of my favorite desserts.  Dare I say, ice cream doesn’t even hold a candle to rice pudding for the cold, sweet, creamy comfort it provides.

This recipe is a little different from the normal rice pudding in that instead of using only milk, it also uses coconut milk for flavor.  It adds a gentle coconut flavor that pairs well with the vanilla bean but isn’t overwhelmingly “coconutty”, if you catch my drift.  Sprinkle with cinnamon for an additional twist of flavor and you may find yourself eating this for breakfast like I did because I just couldn’t wait until dessert later in the day!

Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic
Makes about 4 cups

• 1 1/2 cups cooked cold Arborio rice (or 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice + 1 cup water)
• 1 can (15 oz) light coconut milk
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out for use, or 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste

1. If you don’t have cooked rice lying around, which I didn’t, in a saucepan bring the water and rice to a boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring until the water is completely absorbed.  The rice should be al dente–slightly crunchy in the middle, which will give your rice pudding more texture later.  Move the rice to a bowl and put in the fridge (or if you’re in a hurry like me, in the freezer) until it cools down.
2. Combine the rice, coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large saucepan and cook, uncovered, on low-medium heat for 40 minutes.  If you want it a little thicker, cook the mixture for a bit longer.
3. Let the mixture cool to almost room temperature (so you don’t heat up your fridge too much), then move to the refrigerator to finish chilling.  Serve cold with a sprinkle of cinnamon and enjoy!

While peanut butter cupcakes aren’t my favorite, I knew these would be a hit for our April birthdays celebration, so I made Jen‘s PPQ choice as well as next week’s PPQ Oatmeal Crisps to bring into the office.  Good for any sort of celebration, these cupcakes are sort of like an inside-out Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with the peanut butter on the outside and a pocket of chocolate on the inside.  They’re topped with a peanut butter penuche icing–a term I had not known before Pastry Queen and, subsequently, Wikipedia, which says it is a “fudge-like candy made from butter, brown sugar and milk”.  Rebecca added peanut butter for flavor and I thought the rich, gooey topping was a nice change from the normal whipped buttercream frosting.  To balance out the peanut-butter-on-top-of-peanut-butter overdose, I added some bittersweet chocolate ganache on top.  You can see that the chocolate sort of separated as it ran down the sides of the cupcakes, but it still adds that little break from the peanut butter I think is necessary.  Be sure to check out Project Pastry Queen for the other members’ takes on the recipes.

Aside from adding the ganache on top, I also made these in normal cupcake tins as opposed to the “Texas-sized muffin tins” Rebecca suggests.  Other PPQ members warned against over filling the muffin tins and I concur with this advice–I filled the cups just halfway, inserted the chocolate pieces, then dabbed just enough batter over the chocolate to cover it.  The cupcakes baked up beautifully.  In addition, the batter made enough for 20 normal-sized cupcakes, not the suggested 12.

Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing
Adapted from The Pastry Queen
Yields about 20 standard size cupcakes

Cupcakes

It’s still Passover so I’m not too too late with this holiday approved dessert, I think.  Between all of the coconut macaroons and flourless chocolate cakes that come out this time of the year, this combo seemed like an obvious (and delicious) choice–and contrary to many holiday desserts, this one is so incredibly easy I could hardly believe it!  It only has 4 ingredients and takes practically no time to complete the steps, which was a major relief because those Hot Cross Buns put a temporary curse on my kitchen.  Nothing was working and after I ruined the lime creme I was making to fill coconut macaroon tart shells, I was sure I was going to have to go back to the grocery store at 10pm (typical me scenario) to get ingredients so that I could produce something (anything) for today’s post.  Then the kitchen fairies came out and, knowing I needed 8 oz of bittersweet chocolate for this recipe (which I already had the coconut for), I found a 4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate and exactly 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate chips leftover from a previous recipe.

This recipe produces a crisp coconut macaroon “crust” and a creamy dense chocolate filling that will be perfect with a little bit of whipped cream to lighten it up.  While it is appropriate for Passover, since it is has no flour in it and is unleavened, I think this pie will be welcome at anyone’s spring table.  Chag Sameach!

Coconut Chocolate Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts

For the crust

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 bag (about 14 oz) of shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse about 1/3 of the coconut and butter together until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut-butter mixture with the rest of the coconut and stir well until mixture is cohesive.
4. Press the coconut into a 9″ pie plate so that it forms a crust and bake for 10-15 minutes.  If the edges start to brown too much, cover them with some tin foil.
5. Once golden brown, move the crust to a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely before filling with the chocolate (this will allow the crust to crisp up first).
6. While the crust is cooling, bring the heavy cream to boil in a small saucepan.
7. Put the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over it.  Let it sit for a few minutes then whisk until it is smooth and no streaks of cream remain.
8. Pour the chocolate into the tart shell and let it cool before moving it to the refrigerator to set completely for another hour or so.  Enjoy!

When I asked my friend Anna what cake she wanted for her birthday last week, I didn’t know what to expect.  I think, at least, I had expected a request that I had experience in making, so when she immediately asked for a Tres Leches Cake, I knew two things: a) I had never made a Tres Leches Cake and b) you can’t let the Birthday Girl down on her birthday.  So off I went in the name of research.  A coworker mentioned she didn’t like Tres Leches Cake because it was too mushy; I made a mental note to make sure my cake was creamy, but not cake mush.  Anna had also requested fresh fruit on top, so I tried to do some research into what fruit is traditionally used.  The Pioneer Woman said maraschino cherry, but Anna (and Martha Stewart) said any sort of fresh fruit is the way to go, so I found fruit that would not only taste good together but also look nice with lots of vibrant colors–it was her birthday, after all, and she deserved a beautiful cake.

Wouldn’t you know, despite it being my first time making it, everyone loved it!  I’m so pleased that my first Tres Leches was a success and now I’m looking forward to trying other recipes for Tres Leches, just to see how they vary.  This one, courtesy of Martha Stewart, was an eggy sponge cake.  The milks it was soaked in added a creaminess that lingered on your tongue but that didn’t disintegrate the cake (so that you were definitely eating cake and not mush) and the whipped cream and fruit on top gave the cake a deceptively light, fresh feel.  One of the keys here was fresh, ripe pineapple, a flavor that went very well with the cake and had a beautiful golden yellow color.  I think a dash of cinnamon would be fun to add next time–Churro flavored Tres Leches Cake, anyone?

Tres Leches Cake
Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

In my house, carrot cake and I have a very notorious love/hate relationship and it’s exactly this love/hate relationship that made me choose this recipe for Project Pastry Queen this week.  Love because while I certainly enjoy carrot cake’s spicy, moistness, The Boyfriend LOVES carrot cake and things are always more fun to make when you know the person receiving it is going to love it.  Hate because I have never found a carrot cake that works out according to the recipe.  Long story short: no matter what carrot cake recipe I try (even Cooks Illustrated’s recipe!), the bake time for me is always almost double what the instructions call for.  Pastry Queen’s recipe is no different.  (I might add that this phenomenon only happens to me with carrot cake–my oven bakes everything else exactly according to the instructions!)  I let the carrot cake bake longer than the suggested time, took it out to cool when I thought it was done and cut into it, found it was still cake batter in the middle, and had to put it back in the oven.  I thought I had ruined the cake and went to bed very angry that night, but woke up the next morning, tasted the cake, and to my delight (maybe just relief) realized that it turned out just fine.

That all said, this is one outstanding cake.  Truly it is!  Instead of just a spice cake with flecks of orange in it, this is a cake packed with ingredients–pineapple, coconut flakes and macadamia nuts make this one incredible cake with a very tropical flair.  There’s even cream of coconut in the frosting.  Despite baking for so long, the cake didn’t dry out at all.  And to amp it up just a little more, I added some toasted shaved coconut to the top of the cake as well.  I think that, now that I’ve figured out to just leave the cake in the oven for as long as humanely possible, I’ve finally found a carrot cake recipe that I can stand behind!  Check out the other PPQer’s takes on the recipe here.

Notes: The cake above is a half recipe, baked in two 6″ cake pans, but was frosted with a full recipe of frosting.  If you make a full recipe of cake (which, in true Pastry Queen style, makes a BIG cake), I suggest doubling your frosting recipe.  I found the shaved coconut at my local co-op: they were selling a small package of it on the shelf next to the other coconut products for $3.95, but I found shaved coconut in their bulk aisle and filled a giant bag, twice as much as I needed, for 60 cents.  I’ve learned my lesson in creative shopping and deal hunting!

Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather

Carrot Cake

• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• 3 cups flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon (I doubled this in my recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (I doubled this in my recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (Pre-shredded carrots from Trader Joes are a time saver!)
• 1 1/2 cups canned pineapple pieces (I roughly chopped them into smaller bits)
• 1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez (found in the alcohol section as a drink mix-in at my grocery store)

Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sweetened cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the macadamia nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes.  Leave the oven on.
2. Evenly space your oven racks so that one is 1/3 from the bottom of the oven and the other is 1/3 up from that.
3. Line three 9″ cake pans with circles of parchment paper  and spray with non-stick baking spray.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut and macadamia nuts.
5. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, oil, carrots, pineapple and cream of coconut.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until thoroughly combined.
7. Evenly divide the batter amongst the three cake prepared cake pans and arrange the pans in the oven so that two pans are on one rack, the third is on the other rack, and that none of the pans are directly above or below the others.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes (or, in my case, closer to an hour–put some tin foil over the top if it starts to darken too much, but before taking it out, make sure that the center is fully set and that a cake tester comes out clean and not sticky whatsoever.)
9. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 5 minutes still in their pans, then invert them and cool completely before frosting them.
10. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together in a large bowl until combined and creamy.  Add the whipping cream, cream of coconut, and salt and beat until combined and smooth.
11. Frost the cakes according to your desire– the cake layers did sink just a little bit so I added a bit of extra frosting to make them sit evenly on each other.
12. To make the toasted shaved coconut, set your oven on broil, spread 1-2 cups of the coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 2 minutes, stir the coconut so that it is redistributed for even browning, and toast for another 2 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool before sprinkling it over the top of the cake.  Enjoy!

Rebecca notes: “The cake can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 4 days.  Let it cool in the refrigerator about 1 hour before covering to ensure the frosting has hardened and will not stick to the plastic wrap”.  I can add that I hate hate hate cake in the fridge because it dries out and doesn’t taste as good, but this cake is so moist and flavorful that it was great straight from the fridge even.  If serving a whole cake to friends, though, I’d let it warm up 30 minutes or so before serving.

Happy Day Before St. Patrick’s Day!  Continuing with our love for the various gifts of food and drink Ireland has shared with us over time, I give you Chocolate-Baileys Cheesecake.  Having made it, I’m pretty sure that this will not just be a St. Patrick’s Day tradition, but a year-round tradition because it’s just that good.  The chocolate and Irish Cream meld together perfectly for a dessert that will keep you sneaking forkfuls from the fridge when you think no one is looking (but since my roommate is out of town this weekend, the only one around to judge me sneaking to the fridge are the kitchen cabinets and, frankly, I don’t care what they think).

And just when you think the combination of Baileys and chocolate couldn’t get any better, there’s a touch of cinnamon thrown into the crust which just sends this dessert over the top.  The original recipe calls for chocolate wafer cookies and everyone in the comments on BHG insists that they’re easy to find, but I didn’t find a single plain chocolate cookie in my store but one: Teddy Grahams.  And I love Teddy Grahams, so I was happy to use them.  I used the 1 1/2 cups of crumbs the recipe called for, but I didn’t get the tall perfect crust like BHG does, so I suggest using the whole box of Teddy Grahams.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

Chocolate-Baileys Cheesecake
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

• 1 box of chocolate Teddy Grahams, ground to fine crumbs
• 7 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 container (8 oz) sour cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup Baileys Irish cream liqueur
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine the cookie crumbs, melted butter and cinnamon in a small bowl until thoroughly combined, then press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and chocolate together on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the eggs and beat on low-medium until just combined.
5. Add the Baileys, cream and vanilla and stir in with a wooden spoon (I suspect this is because using an electric mixer here would splatter EVERYWHERE)
6. Pour the filling into the springform pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until the center is just set.  It’s hard to describe exactly what that looks like, but I guess the only way to say it is that even though the top was baked, it jiggled around when I shook it as if the top were sitting on something slidey.
7. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then slide a thin sharp knife around the edge to separate the crust.  Let it cool for another hour and then stick it in the fridge for at least 6 hours.  I made mine the night before so it was ready for the next day.  Enjoy!