Chocolate Ganache Turtle Cheesecake Recipe

Directions:

1. Ok where to begain..First you need to have your cheescake ingredients brought to room temp. You will need 9 inch springform pan, foil, roasting pan for baine marie (water bath) you will need double boiler for caramel sauce and if you are like me a bottle of wine and a lot of patience.
2. For crust preheat oven to 400*
3. Grease 9 inch springform pan
4. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1/2 butter to form dough, now this is going to sound odd but its too much for a 9 inch pan and perfect for a 10 inch so...i pinch off about 1/2 cups worth or so and set aside.
5. Spread out dough in bottom of pan to edges then prick well all over with a fork
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. What I do with the leftover dough is add some more sugar and smidge of vanilly and make a few cookies..cause Im not busy enough at this point. bake those for about 12 minutes...you will need a snack for later.
8. Turn oven down to 350*
9. Now would be a good time to take two large pieces of heavy duty foil one at a time around the springform pan so that the water bath does not seep in. or you can use a roasting bag. If you use foil wrap tightly and bring up over edge of pan as if you are extending the heigth of it.
10. While crust is baking I use double boiler or a stainless steal bowl over a sauce pan of boiling water to melt caramels with can of evaporated milk using whisk to stir untill creamy and spreadable. I pour about 1/3 over the crust thats in the springform pan and spread all around and then add some chopped pecans on top of that and set aside as well as set aside the reamaining caramel sauce.
11. Now for the cheesecake...
12. I use my kitchenade mixer to do this.
13. Add the cream cheese and sugar into mixing bowl and use the paddle to mix untill smooth I use the 2 setting which is a slow stir.
14. Then blend in the milk. It is important to no overstir your cheesecake batter. Now its time to add the eggs one at a time and just untill incorportated then add the sour cream and vanilla and flour just until smooth.
15. At this point i would reward myself with a bite of cookie and a sip of wine.
16. I remove the bowl and bang it on the counter a few times to get the air bubbles out and then pour half in the springform pan.
17. Next i take 1/3 of the caramel sauce and pour all around the cheesecake and then use a knife and swirl around and then very carefully pour reamaining cheesecake batter in. I then bang on counter gently to get air bubbles out.
18. For baine marie I use my turkey roasting pan and i bring water to boil in my tea kettle.
19. Set cheesecake pan into roasting pan on center rack and then carefully pour boiling water in roaster to come up around one inch around the springform pan.
20. Close oven and set timer for 1 and !/2 hours (thats my oven) yours may vary...It is time to turn oven off when the cheesecake is set except for a 3 inch diameter in the center which should be still wobbley. Now take a hot greased knife and run around the edge of cake to separate from pan this will help prevent cracking and then shut the oven door and leave it alone. If you haven't already cover the caramel sauce and set aside for topping.
21. Its time for another glass of wine.
22. Now just leave that cheesecake in there for as many hours up to 4 that your life can allow.
23. For chocolate ganache
24. Break chocolate squares into bits and put into a bowl
25. Put 2 TBS butter and 1/2 cup cream in a sauce pan and heat to just boiling and then pour into bowl of chocolate bits and stir with whisk untill smooth and creamy. Warm up your caramel sauce.
26. Now you are ready to decorate, cover top of cheesecake with one or the other and then drizzle the second one on top of that, and top with pecans if you choose.
27. Put in refrigerator overnight.
28. Remove from springform pan and use hot knife to smooth edges.
29. To slice your beautiful cheesecake either use fishing line or use a long sharp knife and get it very hot with water and then wipe blade and make cut to half cake then wipe knife get hot again and then wipe for second cut and so forth until you have 16 slices.
30. You can store your cheesecake up to a week in refrigerator or you can wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and then in foil and will keep up to a month in freezer