I know…I just shared a recipe for a chocolate Irish Cream cheesecake. But then I started thinking that I wanted to make a plain Irish Cream cheesecake. To be fair, I used the same chocolate crust and ganache as I did for the chocolate variety, but this cheesecake itself is pretty different. This recipe provided the best texture of any cheesecake, too!

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 15 cookies)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted

• 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese
• 1½ cups white sugar
• ¾ cup Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, powdered’ sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in Bailey’s Original Irish Cream, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.
Pour filling onto prepared chocolate crust. Bake in preheated oven and check after one hour. Bake until center is jiggly, but not runny (at least one hour). With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Top with chocolate ganache while cheesecake is at room temperature, if desired. Chill before serving.

I think I’ve mastered the art of making a great-tasting cheesecake–now I just have to work on presentation. I’ve yet to bake any kind of cheesecake that hasn’t cracked at least a little, and some of them have cracked a lot! Then again, the more I practice, the more we get to eat the results!