Dark chocolate cream cheese + raspberry filling + caramelized ginger snap crust + Feast of Fools by Magic Hat Brewing = YUM
I recently received a bottle of Feast of Fools from the ever so gracious Magic Hat Brewing. Although I was tempted to immediately drink the entire bottle of the raspberry stout, I knew I was supposed to be cooking with it. Of course, if you send beer I will cook with it but if you send a raspberry stout, it is truly hard to resist drinking too much. Luckily, I was able to suppress my urges until I came up with this cheesecake recipe. To be honest, this is literally the first cheesecake I have ever made. It might also be the last cheesecake I ever make since it is so damn good. How could something cooked with a raspberry stout not be good? It has a caramelized ginger snap crust and a raspberry filling to balance out the richness of the dark chocolate cream cheese. I’ll let you be the judge but I’m thinking this is a total WIN! Thanks Magic Hat for creating something so delicious as Feast of Fools!
Ingredients:
Crust:
24 ginger snap cookies (I used the Nabisco Brand)
¼ cup butter, melted
2 tbsp brown sugar
Raspberry filling:
2 pints raspberries
1 cup Feast of Fools by Magic Hat
½ cup sugar
1 packet of gelatin
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Stout Cheesecake:
1 ½ cups dark chocolate
½ cup Feast of Fools by Magic Hat
4 (8oz ) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
Special items: 9 inch springform, blowtorch
Directions:
Start with the raspberry filling. Wash and mash the raspberries.
In a large pan, heat 1 cup of Feast of Fools with the sugar. When it begins to bubble, add the packet of gelatin and the raspberries.
Give it a good stir and then remove from the heat. Place the sauce refrigerator to cool. By the time you need it for the cheesecake filling, it won’t be completely gelled – that is fine as long as it is slightly firm. When you use it to top the cheesecake, if it is too firm for your liking, feel free to heat it for a few seconds in the microwave.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grab a 9 inch springform. In a food processor or blender, grind down the ginger snaps and then mix them in a bowl with melted butter.
Press them into the bottom of the springform to get a nice crust.
Place the springform the oven for 7 minutes so it can set. When the time is up, remove the dish and lower the heat of the oven to 325°F (keeping it on for the next part of the recipe). Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the crust once it has been removed from the oven and caramelize it with the blowtorch. If you don’t have a blowtorch you can skip this but I suggest buying one because this step makes everything even more delicious.
Boil a large pot of water on the stove. Add the chocolate and ½ cup of Feast of Fools to a glass bowl and melt over the boiling water.
When the chocolate has melted set it aside while you assemble the rest of the cheesecake filling. You want the chocolate to cool enough so that it won’t cook the eggs but not firm up too much. In a blender or a food processor, combine the chocolate, cream cheese and sugar, blending until it forms a cohesive mixture. Add the eggs last, only pulsing a few times until they are combined.
Pour a think layer of chocolate cream cheese filling on top of the crust. Then dabble a few spoonfuls of raspberry filling around dish. Repeat until you get to the final layer of chocolate cream cheese filling – you will not top the last layer with raspberry filling.
Bake the cheesecake in the oven at 325°F for one hour. The center will still be jiggling when you take it out but don’t worry, it is cooked. Refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight. Slide a knife around the pan to remove the cheesecake (this was this biggest challenge for me!) Top with more raspberry sauce and serve. Prepare yourself to die of happiness.
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