Christmas recipe: Cappuccino Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

24 Oreo cookies
1/3 cup butter, melted

Ganache:

1 package (10 ounces) 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup coffee liqueur

Filling:

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons dark rum
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground coffee
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons molasses
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Place cookies in a food processor. Cover and pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 10-in. springform pan; set aside.

Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in liqueur. Pour 1-3/4 cups over crust. Freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. For garnishes, drop remaining ganache by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined sheets; cover and refrigerate.

Dissolve coffee granules in rum. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour, ground coffee, vanilla, molasses and rum mixture. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over ganache. Place pan on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until center is almost set. Let stand for 5 minutes. Combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla; spread over top of cheesecake. Bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove sides of pan. Just before serving, arrange garnishes over top.