Cold Brew Cheesecake with Espresso Ganache

Adapted from kitchen-tested.com, this cheesecake has multiple layers of coffee and is covered with a rich chocolate ganache topping.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 ½ cups chocolate baking or graham cracker crumbs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
For the cold brew cheesecake:
24 oz. (three 8 oz. bricks) light cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ cups light sour cream
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup cold brew concentrate
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ cup espresso liqueur

For the coffee liqueur ganache:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup whipping/heavy cream
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. espresso liqueur

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “s” blade, pulse together the baking/graham crumbs with the melted butter until moistened.

Transfer the mixture to the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 325F.

While the crust is cooling, in a cleaned food processor bowl fitted with the “s” blade, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, maple syrup, cold brew, and salt until smooth.

Transfer all but ½ cup of the batter to the baking pan.

Add the espresso liqueur to the ½ cup batter and combine until smooth.

Drizzle the mixture over the cake and swirl with a toothpick.

Place a small bowl of boiling water beside the baking pan in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Turn the oven off but leave the door closed for 15 minutes. Prop the oven door open for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Place the pan in the fridge for 4-24 hours. To make the ganache, in a double boiler combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream until smooth.

Add the butter and espresso liqueur and stir until melted.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cheesecake and allow it to set for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving. The ganache will cover any cracks in the cheesecake.