Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.

I am so thrilled with how this cheesecake turned out! I was somewhat winging it when I added my homemade raspberry puree, and I wasn't sure if it was going to mess with the chocolate consistency. So on Thursday night I had a trial run, and needless to say, it was a success. The family gobbled it down before I could say "Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake."  Today I made 2 more of these bad boys, and am selling them to a friend for his dad's birthday.  I call Grandma out to come look at the finished product and I thought she passed out in the doorway from pure excitement.  She said, "Now who are these for???" (hoping they were for her.) I told her who they were for and she said, "Wow! He sure is a lucky boy! And so is his daddy!".....I could make a dessert out of garbage and I know I can count on Grandma giving me an A+! She's a doll like that. 

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
-1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
-2 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese - softened
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 vanilla bean - seeds scraped from inside of pod
-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-3 eggs
-1 cup sour cream
-8 ounces melted semisweet chocolate - cooled slightly
-6 ounces raspberry puree
-Fresh raspberries - for garnish

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F if using a silver springform pan (or 325 degrees F if using a dark nonstick springform pan).

-Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan.

-In a mixing bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of springform pan and set aside.

-In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, remaining cup of sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds and beat until light and creamy.
 

-Add the flour to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.
 

-Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well.
 

-Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended.
 

-Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the center is almost set.
 

-Run a sharp knife around the rim of the pan and allow cake to cool on a wire rack before removing rim of pan.
 

-Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

***Cheesecake may be made up to 2 days in advance before serving and will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.***