Sinfully Chocolaty Chocolate Cheesecake

• 8 ounces chocolate wafers (often called icebox cookies)
• 3 ounces (¾ stick) sweet butter

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate-Ghirardelli is ideal (3 bars)
• 24 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (3 bars)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. rum extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs (large or extra-large) (6 eggs if making a vanilla cheesecake)
• 1 cup sour cream (1 container)

1. Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 375°.
2. Butter the sides only of a 9 x 3 springform pan. Set aside.
3. Crumble the cookies coarsely, then blend or crush them into fine crumbs. There should be 2 cups of crumbs.
4. Place in mixing bowl, add melted butter and mix. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Squish down with your fingers.

1. Place the chocolate in top of double boiler over hot water on low heat. (You can also use a Pyrex glass dish inside a pan of boiling water.)
2. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese until it is very smooth. Add the vanilla and rum extract, salt, and sugar and beat well, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula, until very smooth.
4. Add the chocolate and beat to mix. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with the spatula and beating until thoroughly blended after each addition. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth. Pour the filling into the crumb crust. Jiggle pan to smooth batter. Bake for 1 hour (it will seem quite soft) at 375°.
5. Let stand on a rack until completely cool. Cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. It may be made a day or two ahead of time. Serve cold. This is very dense, but tasty with whipped cream and/or fresh fruit.

Also good after being frozen and thawed.

All photos and text copyright Ryszard Kilarski, unless otherwise noted. Clip art, drawings, paintings are either free domain or copyrighted by the artists.