Bull's Eye Cheesecake

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 3-Inch Cake Pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment. (This pan is NOT a springform, which may leak when baking in a water bath. I will show you how to get the cake out of the pan in my instagram video.)

Step 2

In a Food Processor, pulverize the graham crackers until they are powdered. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the mixture is coated evenly with the butter. Firmly press the crust in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until it looks dry. Allow to cool as you prepare the batter.

Step 3

Beat the cream cheese until smooth with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, on medium-low speed. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Scrape the bowl often and make sure the mixture is smooth before continuing. Add the eggs, one at a time.

Step 4

Divide the batter into two bowls. Add the granulated sugar to one bowl, mix well until sugar is dissolved. Add the brown sugar, espresso and cocoa powder to the second bowl and mix well until sugar is dissolved.

Step 5

Pour 3/4 cup of the cocoa batter onto the center of the cooled crust. Pour 3/4 cup of the white batter into the center of the cocoa batter in the pan. Pour 3/4 of the cocoa batter into the center of the white batter in the pan. Repeat this process until you've used all the batter, going back and forth with the two colors. The batter will spread and some of the stripes will be submerged, but you will end up with a bull's eye pattern on top and striped when it is cut. You can watch me make this in my Craftsy Cheesecake Class.

Step 6

Place the cheesecake in a water bath, tent and vent with foil. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the top is set and slightly puffed up. Remove from the oven, run a knife around the cake and allow to cool in the water bath, so it cools slowly. See this process in my Craftsy Cheesecake Class.

Step 7

Remove from pan by waving the pan over the open flame or hot coils of your stove, run the knife around the edge again and invert the cake on to a plastic covered flat disk (cardboard round or the false bottom of a tart pan work well). Invert the cake onto an 8-Inch Cardboard Cake Circle that fits the bottom exactly. If you are not covering in ganache, you can invert directly onto the serving plate. Refrigerate until ready to cover in ganache.

Step 8

Heat the cream and espresso until simmering, turn off heat. Add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil, swirl until the chocolate is submerged in the hot cream, allow to sit for 3 minutes. Gently whisk until smooth. Allow to cool until thick and just about room temperature.

Step 9

Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack, over a parchment lined baking sheet and pour the ganache over the cake. See my instagram or Craftsy class for instructions on how to pour it into a perfectly smooth sheet.

Step 10

Allow to sit several minutes before moving, then refrigerate the cheesecake still on the rack. Run a knife or spatula under the cake and move to a serving plate. Keep refrigerated until ready to cut and serve.