Coffee 'n' Cream Cheesecake

Total Time: 2 hrs 55 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr 55 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1/4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1 3/4 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
• 24 ounces cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur
• chocolate-covered coffee beans

Recipe

• 1 the crust--in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in instant coffee until dissolved.
• 2 in a bowl, stir the crushed vanilla wafers, sugar, and chopped almonds together; stir in the butter mixture until well combined.
• 3 press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
• 4 the filling--in a big bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch; beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
• 5 add in eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 6 stir together the instant coffee and hot water until dissolved; add coffee mixture and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture; beat until smooth.
• 7 stir in whipping cream; pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
• 8 bake at 350° for 15 minutes; decrease temperature to 200° and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny.
• 9 remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
• 10 turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 30 minutes; chill, uncovered, overnight.
• 11 topping: in a small bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar, and coffee liqueur with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
• 12 pipe the whipped cream mixture around the edge of the cheesecake; garnish with chocolate-covered coffee beans; chill until serving time.