Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

About this cheesecake

• Super creamy - it is dense but soft with a wonderful creamy texture.
• Intensely chocolate - the chocolate flavor is deep but just sweet enough.
• Baileys - the flavor of this wonderful Irish cream liquor shines through without overpowering the whole cake. It took me a while to get here, let me tell you.
• Cream topping - it is an extra layer that adds a lot of balance to the whole cheesecake. Don't skip it.

What is Baileys?

It's an Irish cream liqueur. Thick in consistency and with a color similar to tea with milk (image below, in the glass).

Baileys is a trademark name, but, as it happens many times, it's used as a generic. You can buy it or make a similar version at home (if you're interested check out this recipe for Homemade Irish cream or baileys)

Ingredients

Except for the liqueur, the ingredients are simple.

• Cookies: use chocolate digestive biscuits or wafers, plain ones.
• Unsalted butter.
• Chocolate: semisweet works wonderfully. There are many good brands. My favorites are Ghirardelli and Green & Black's (see Notes in the recipe card for links).
• Baileys: this unique Irish cream liquor should not be substituted, though there are some brands that try to re-create it, they're not the same. Besides, you should change the title, lol.
• Cream cheese: the regular type. I like to use Philadelphia brand cream cheese for all my cheesecakes.
• Sour cream: the regular type.
• Cream: whipping, double or heavy cream, they all work. The last two usually have a higher fat content which makes the cheesecake richer and denser.
• Sugar: white, granulated.
• Eggs: large, fresh.
• Vanilla - I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.

How to make this cheesecake

There are three parts to this incredible chocolate dessert: the cheesecake base, the creamy filling, and the boozy topping.

• Cookie or biscuit base: it's a very simple mix of ground chocolate wafers and butter, that are baked for a small amount of time. This makes the chocolate cookie crust firm enough to hold the filling and to be able to remove it from the springform pan when ready to serve. You won't be able to cover more than ½ to 1 inch and that is fine (image 1).
• Chocolate filling: it is dark and so unctuous (image 2) you might want to eat it with a spoon right from the mixing bowl. It happens. When you pour it into the cake pan it will pass the cookie crust mark and that is fine.
• Topping: the top of the cheesecake will crack in the edges and develop a thin layer during baking (image 3), and, while the cheesecake is still hot, the topping is spread (image 4) before letting it cool completely.

How to achieve a creamy consistency

A creamy cheesecake, isn't that what we all want? Achieving it is not hard but a few details must not be overlooked.

• Baking temperature: I bake it at our usual 350° for about ten minutes at the beginning but then turn down the oven temperature and let it continue to bake slowly. This way there's no need for a water bath which can be pretty annoying.
• Cooling down: the oven is turned off and the cheesecake is left inside with the door closed for another hour. Then it needs to cool down completely to room temperature before you chill it. Why? Because it needs to cool down gradually. She's not friends with sudden changes in temperature.
• Refrigeration: once it's cooled down it goes into the refrigerator, well wrapped. At least 8 hours for best results. I never leave it less than 12 hours, and usually a day or 2. Trust me that it all helps to get that creamiest consistency possible.

I have a recipe for an 8-hour cheesecake. The creaminess is out of this world, unlike anything I ever tasted! That's what slow baking does.

Serving ideas

I like to have cheesecakes frozen at all times. It will save you when you need a last-minute dessert or when you need to have the dessert made in advance.

That said, this particular baileys cheesecake recipe is the perfect dessert if you because it's chocolate and it has liquor which makes it sophisticated and different.

• Whole cheesecake: I add a touch of chocolate ganache on top before serving it, and sometimes sprinkle some chocolate shavings or chocolate curls.
• Plated dessert: serve it in slivers with some whipped cream and berries on top.
• Frozen: cut it in squares and serve it straight from the freezer for a semifreddo-like version. Make it as a sheet cake - similar to the Best Baked Cheesecake - if you want to cut squares.
• Dessert table: serve small squares (finger-food style) with coffee alongside shots of Baileys.

Storing cheesecake

• Refrigerator: well wrapped it keeps for 1-2 weeks.
• Freezer: this is my favorite way of storing this baileys chocolate cheesecake (or any one for that matter). Wrap it well, first in plastic and then in aluminum foil. It keeps for a month. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, but remember that it's best served somewhat cold.

• Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
• Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Chocolate cookie crust: do not use sandwich cookies(such as oreo cookies) because they create an overly greasy base that doesn't really go with the cheesecake mixture, flavor-wise. I sometimes add a few tablespoons ground cocoa nibs for an even deeper flavor.
• Liqueur: the boozy part works because it's Bailey's Irish cream and it's sweet and not overly strong. It's not a recipe to make with same amount of Irish whiskey or bourbon unless you like a very strong flavor. For that, you can try the phenomenal Hot Chocolate Bourbon Cake, probably my favorite one ever.
• Mini cheesecakes: it's a good idea if you want each person to have it's individual dessert or to freeze in portions. Use small pans with removable bottoms and take into account that you will have to bake cheesecakes for a shorter time.