Oaxaca chocolate is spicy and incredible. In addition to chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and ground almonds, it can contain a hint of hot peppers. I bought some recently at the Benito Juarez Market in the city from two little ladies who make it out of their Tlacolula de Matamoros kitchen. My intention was to bring it home and use it in my morning beverage we call “choco-cafe,” a mix of good strong coffee and Oaxaca chocolate that my husband Stephen and I love.
Today, I picked up my adult son at the airport for Thanksgiving. (He came in from L.A.) Mom, he said, will you bake a chocolate cheesecake for Thanksgiving? I had bought ingredients for a NY cheesecake, but with a swift adaptation of a trusted recipe that I used to make and sell from my gourmet cookware shop, cooking school, and catering business (some years ago), and that Oaxaca chocolate, I produced what he asked for. Something familiar from childhood that he adored. It’s in the oven now. You still have time to make your Thanksgiving Oaxaca Chocolate Cheesecake! Go for it.
Supplies: What you will need
10″ springform pan
small bowl for melting chocolate in microwave oven
small bowl for softening cream cheese in microwave oven
rubber spatula
mixer
Ingredients for crust:
3 packages (in the box of 4) of graham crackers, finely ground in food processor
6 T. butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
Ingredients for filling:
4 packages of cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla
1-1/4 c. sugar
2 c. sour cream
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
8 oz. Oaxaca chocolate, broken into chunks
In food processor, process graham crackers until they are a fine crumb. Add sugar and combine. Add melted butter. Combine. Pour into buttered springform pan. With fingers, press firmly on base and up sides to form a crust. Set aside.
With mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until soft. With mixer going, add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Mix. Add sour cream and briefly mix until blended in. Pour half the plain vanilla mixture into a second bowl.
Melt all the chocolates. I do this in a microwave oven on 30% power for about 3-5 minutes, checking to make sure that the chocolate doesn’t overheat. Pour the melted chocolate into the remaining white cheesecake mixture and blend with mixer until the cheesecake is completely chocolate.
Pour the white mixture into the springform pan first. Gently pour the chocolate mixture on top of the white mixture. Use a spoon to create swirls.
In a preheated 350 degree oven, bake for one hour or until the center is dry and firm. Turn the oven off. Leave the cheesecake in the oven to settle and avoid cracking. Cover and refrigerate. You can make this up to three days in advance.
As soon as I remove this from the pan tomorrow, I’ll take a photo and post it before we eat it!
Buen provecho!
Chocolate: What’s Not to Love About It?
Click here for Kathleen’s Chocolate story http://wp.me/pTTp9-1gU
My fellow writer, expat food aficionado and socially/politically/environmentally conscious advocate for responsible living has just written an important article. I encourage you to read it. The slave trade in Africa, a centuries old practice, endures because of the world’s love for chocolate. Kathleen Dobek writes about the chocolate candy makers who don’t and do use fair trade practices, the regulations and compliance issues around chocolate manufacture, and what we can do to ensure that we are not supporting companies that are not adhering to ethical labor practices.
I love chocolate. What’s not to love about it is the enslavement of children who harvest the cacao bean for some of the world’s leading chocolate manufacturers. Kathleen has researched and written a great article. Please read it.
It raises the question for me about Oaxacan chocolate. Where does the cacao bean and chocolate come from that goes into making that delicious, frothy morning cup of hot chocolate. Where does the chocolate come from that is the primary ingredient for mole negro, my absolute favorite mole that covers chicken and rice? If anyone knows the answer, do tell!
This comment just came in to me via email from Silva: the chocolate used in Oaxaca for drinking and mole comes from the Mexican State of Tabasco.
She sent this link to the USDA web site for an explanation of terms regarding organic labeling. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPUnderstandingOrganicLabeling&description=Understanding%20Organic%20Labeling&acct=nopgeninfo
She goes on to say that many people take the “USDA organic” label for granted. If you check USDA, you will find that the term means that up to 5% of the item can be chemicals and non-organic materials. This agreement was made by
pressure from Monsanto, Dole, etc. Many so called USDA organic items at the grocery store are NOT organic, but 95% organic. They can be identical to non-organic products, just cost more money – great profits for companies like Dole. The only items that are organic are those that say “USDA 100%
organic”. I have never seen that label in a store. Just worth keeping in mind when using that term…
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Food & Recipes
Tagged Africa, Chocolate, Cocoa bean, Cooking in Mexico, fair trade, mole negro, Oaxaca, Slavery