Joey's Birthday + A Cheesecake Recipe

Joey's 22nd Birthday was simply wonderful. I made him meatloaf with his grandma's  barbecue glaze, mashed potatoes with asiago cheese, and crisp parmesan green beans for dinner, and then we relaxed and took a break from school with one of his favorites: the Office.

And for Dessert: A Double Layer Heath Cheesecake!

This baby has a chocolate crust, a chocolate cheese cake layer, and vanilla layer, heath bar around the outside, and a caramel topping--holy moly!

After researching tons of cheesecake recipes, I came up with my own recipe to get exactly what I want. Its no New York Cheesecake (who has all day to make a monster dessert?), but its great for a first try at a cheesecake and doesn't take too long to make.

Double Layer Heath Cheesecake

For the Crust:
1 box chocolate teddy grahams
3/4 cup butter (or margarine)

For the chocolate layer:
4 oz semisweet or dark chocolate
1 egg
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 tsp vanilla
8 oz cream cheese, softened

For the vanilla layer:
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
16 oz cream cheese, softened

heath pieces
caramel sauce (I just used ice cream topping but you could totally make your own)


For the crust, crush the whole box of teddy grahams. Melt the butter, and mix with the graham crumbs. Press into the bottom of a greased spring form pan to form an even crust.

Chocolate Layer:

In a bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a mixer. Add in the egg, corn syrup, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave (if using chocolate chips, heat in the microwave until they're just starting to melt and they look glossy, then stir--the heat will melt it the rest of the way, and you won't burn your chocolate), and then mix into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over the crust.

Sprinkle some of the heath pieces over the chocolate layer

Vanilla Layer:
In another bowl, beat the 16 ounces of cream cheese, then mix in the brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Pour several dollops over the heath layer and carefully spread the mixture into an even layer.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Since all ovens are different, make sure you check it the last few minutes to make sure it doesn't get too brown on top!
Refrigerate at least three hours.
Place the cheesecake on a serving plate and remove the spring form wall.
With a knife or small spatula, apply a thin layer of caramel around the edge of the cheesecake. Press the heath pieces into the edge.
Pour the caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake. Top with some more heath pieces.