Crown Mocha Brandy Cheese Cake

I thought I had died and gone to Heaven upon the first bite I took of my latest recipe for cheese cake. I made this yesterday and throughout the afternoon and into late evening, the aroma of that cake having baked in the oven left me with a feeling of being in a pastry shop. So wonderfully intoxicating, I could have inhaled it whole (and ended up at the emergency room) had I not regained my sense of restraint. I compromised, settled in my favorite chair, and savored a slice of what may be the best cheese cake I have ever had.

Now don't get me wrong. I have partaken of some wonderful cheese cakes in my years and I have made them on several occasions, including New York style (one of my favorites). Maybe this time the planets and stars were all lined up properly and I had a stroke of luck. Whatever the case may be this time around, this cheese cake is neither the dry cake like New York style nor the gooey, wetter type. Instead, it is more like a high end velvety mousse au chocolat style. I tweaked my recipe a bit and that may have made all the difference.

This is not labor intensive or complicated to make, so let's get started. You definately will want to make this. For the filling, you will need:

3 packages of cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of Brandy (or 1/4 teaspoon Brandy extract)
2 1/2 tablespoons of flour
3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
dash of salt

For the crust, you will need:

1 cup of sifted flour
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of Brandy
1 cube of butter, room temperature
1 egg yolk

In a food processor, blend the flour and sugar for a few seconds. Next, cut the cube of butter into 8 pieces and blend in one at a time, followed by the vanilla, Brandy, and egg yolk. It should quickly turn into a dough. Remove from processor and form a ball. Set in a bowl and refridgerate for 30 to 45 minutes. Be sure to cover bowl with a paper towel.

About 15 minutes before removing pastry dough from the fridge, preheat your oven to 400. Now remove the dough and roll out a tube shape about 6 inches long. Be sure to flour your cutting board and roller well. This is where I sometimes run into trouble with the pastry dough sticking and it can become frustrating. You probably have found ways to get around the sticking and if so, use your method. Now cut your tube of pastry dough into 3 equal parts, set 2 parts aside. Take one piece and roll it out carefully to make a circle approximately 9 inches in diameter. Take an 8 or 9 inch springform pan and remove the bottom. Make sure the pan is at least 3 inches deep. Carefully lay the rolled pastry dough onto the springform bottom, patching if necessary, and bake for about 12 minutes or until pastry dough is light golden. Watch it carefully as this bakes quickly. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Increase oven heat to 450.

Now you will make the filling. In your food processor, add the cream cheese and blend until it's smooth. Next, add your dry ingredients a little at a time while blending. Once the dry ingredients are well incorporated into the cream cheese, start adding the eggs and egg yolk one at a time. Once well blended, add the Brandy, vanilla, and cream and continue blending well. At the final stage, add the chocolate syrup and pulse the processor a few times. Set mixture aside.

The pastry bottom should now have cooled. Spray the sides of the springform pan with cooking spray (preferably the butter type) and reconnect the pan together. Take the two remaining pieces of the pastry dough and roll out 2 strips about 3 inches wide. Carefully place the dough around the inside wall of the springform pan, making sure it covers the sides to the top. If you need to, go ahead and do patchwork with any remaining dough. Now slowly add the filling and smooth out so it is even all the way across. Pat the pan on the counter so the mixture settles well. The mixture should have filled the pan slightly over half way up.

Place in the middle of the oven and reduce temperature to 400 and bake for about 12 minutes. Reduce temperature to 225 and bake for 55 minutes. When done, remove from oven and set on board to cool for about 45 minutes, then refridgerate for at least an hour, preferably 2 hours. To display, carefully remove springform ring so as not to break the crust and set on a nice large white plate. Slice and set each piece on a puddle of half whipped cream or melted vanilla ice cream. Enjoy, I certainly did !