Cheesecake Italiano

Cheesecake Italiano with Coffee

This recipe is slightly different than most for cheesecake because it uses the Italian cream cheese, mascarpone, a slightly grainy, very rich and creamy cheese that adds a luxurious feeling to the taste of this time-honored dessert. If you’re looking for something really special for a wedding cake, consider a few layers of this confection!

This recipe makes 10 generous or 16 moderate slices.

Cheesecake Italiano 
Ingredients for the Crust: 
2 cups graham cracker crumbs made from a box of cookies 
1/4 cup sugar 
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients for the Filling: 
24 ounces or 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature 
1 1/4 cups sugar 
400g or 14.2 ounces mascarpone cheese 
4 large eggs PLUS 3 large egg yolks 
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, grated 
1 tablespoons coffee, freshly-brewed, to which you add 1 tablespoon of DD espresso powder or very finely ground coffee
Fresh berries, as desired, for garnish

Directions for the Crust: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and the sugar, then add the melted butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated. 
Press the mixture on the bottom only of a 10" springform pan. 
Set aside while you prepare the filling.

Directions for the Filling: 
Brew the coffee.
Use an electric mixer on medium speed or mix by hand in a large bowl. 
Beat the cream cheese until no lumps exist, then add the sugar and beat until the mixture is light and creamy. 
Mix in the mascarpone cheese until the mixture is smooth. 
Add both the eggs and egg yolks and combine thoroughly. 
Add the chocolate and the coffee. 
Pour into the springform pan and place in the oven. 
Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake the cheesecake for one hour. 
Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to rest in the oven until cooled and set, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can let it remain in the oven overnight.)
When set, remove the cake from the oven and cover with plastic wrap. Chill until ready to serve. 
To plate, cut a slice and lay on its sides; cover with fresh berries. 

The following nutritional analysis is based on 1/16 of the cake.

Nutriitional information provided by www.menucalc.com