Bourbon Cheesecake

When the hubby offered to make a cheesecake for me for Valentine's Day, I was definitely excited!  Cheesecake is one of my favorite things.  Ever.  Seriously.  My first thought was to make a dutch apple streusel cheesecake recipe I had been eying for a while, but I stumbled across this recipe for bourbon cheesecake and it sounded really good.  It has a shortbread crust, bourbon in the cheesecake, and it's topped with a bourbon chocolate ganache...AND the recipe is for two small cheesecakes!  I actually bought a set of mini springform pans a while back ($4 for a set of 4 at Ross!), so this was the perfect excuse to try them out.  (Of course, I knew that the hubby offering to make cheesecake for me would require my help, and probably turn into me making it with his help.  I wasn't wrong.)

Original recipe is from Sugar Dish Me.

Bourbon Cheesecake with Boozy Chocolate for Two
Makes: 2 mini cheesecakes (using Wilton's 4-in diameter mini springform pans)

Ingredients

• For the Crust:
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• For the Cheesecake:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or half & half)
• 1 tablespoon straight bourbon whiskey
• For the Boozy Chocolate:
• 4 ounces hot fudge (the ice cream topping)
• 2 teaspoons bourbon (more to taste)

Instructions

1.  To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400. In a medium bowl combine the ¼ cup butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ cup flour until a smooth ball of dough forms. You may have to use your fingers to press it all together.
2.  Divide the dough in half and press it across the bottom and halfway up the sides of the 2 mini cheesecake pans. Gently prick the dough across the bottom of the pan with a fork several times. Bake for only 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350.
4.  In a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and smooth.
5.  Add the egg and beat for about 1½ minutes. Add the vanilla, cream, and bourbon. Beat until combined. Divide the batter evenly between the two par-baked crusts.
6.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 275 (I like to open the oven door for just a minute to help the temperature drop) and bake for 15 more minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecakes cool IN the oven.
7.  When they have cooled to room temperature, remove and refrigerate. (If you are in a hurry, you can take them out when it is cool enough to grab by hand — the pans will still feel warm) The cheesecakes will need to chill for at least an hour (from room temperature)

Baked and cooled

8.  While the cheesecakes chill, and just before you are ready to serve,heat the hot fudge in a small saucepan over medium high heat. When it is smooth and warm (a pourable consistency), stir in the bourbon. Drizzle the chocolate over each cheesecake and serve.

With chocolate topping

The Verdict

For a cheesecake, this was really pretty simple to make.  The only thing I would change about the recipe is to cut back on the chocolate topping; it makes probably at least twice as much as needed.  (GASP!  Recommending LESS chocolate!  I know, right?)  Some cheesecakes turn out too "cakey", and some too runny...the consistency of this cheesecake was just about perfect!  Nice and creamy, but firm. The shortbread crust is a nice touch, and I thought it went well with the bourbon flavor, but it does make it a bit richer than your typical graham-cracker crust.  The bourbon wasn't overpowering in the cake itself; it added a little bit of tang, but wasn't too strong.  Where you really taste the bourbon is in the chocolate "ganache" topping (but again, not overpowering).  I think you could easily substitute another flavor (for example, irish cream) for the bourbon if you wanted to change it up a little.  This recipe is definitely getting saved for future use!  I will probably try experimenting with some other flavors, but keep the base recipe the same. 

P.S.  If you're wondering if you can get tispy from bourbon cheesecake, the answer is no.  You can get tipsy, however, from a meal that consists of vodka sauce, bourbon cheesecake, Angry Orchard, and wine.  :-)