From Summer 2014.
I moved into my summer apartment yesterday…my very first apartment! I’m sharing the place with two roommates, one of whom is my friend Kacey and another girl named Mansi who seems nice! The kitchen is clean, my room is spacious, and I even have a walk-in closet!
Naturally, the first thing we do after unpacking is go swimming! …On the rooftop pool of the apartment on a nice “balmy” 60F day with a classic low-hanging Chicago fog cloaking the gray skies. A last hurrah before the impending summer classes and MCAT just around the corner.
Unfortunately, this means I will have to take a small hiatus from baking and blogging until August, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this recipe and at least one more I have planned for July.
This Kit Kat Cheesecake Bar is a lovely and — get this — simple dessert. Graham cracker crust, layered with whole Kit Kat bars and luxurious dark chocolate cheesecake, and topped with silky smooth chocolate ganache with elegant white pin stripes. It’s delicious right away by the spoonful, but it’s even better after chilling overnight. The chocolate ganache infuses with the dark chocolate cheesecake, and makes for a rich chocolate experience, best served with a cold glass of milk. The best part, I think, is the caramelization that occurs between the Kit Kat layer and graham cracker base. That subtle caramel flavor, paired with the chocolate cheesecake, is simply sublime.
By the way, the trick to getting the ganache perfectly smooth is to lightly tap it against the counter. For the white chocolate pin stripes, you can make a makeshift piping bag from a zip lock bag by snipping off the corner of the bag. Unfortunately, my impatience got the better of me, and we sliced in perhaps a little too early. So the cuts are a bit on the messy side, but the end result is spectacularly delicious. But perhaps this would have more photogenic results if I’d waited for at least 4-5 hours to let the cake set in the fridge. (Oops.) Enjoy!
Cheers,
Monica
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Easy Kit Kat Cheesecake Bars
Adapted from Bakers Royale | Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
For the Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Chocolate Cheesecake Layer:
12 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
6 Kit Kat packages
For the Chocolate Ganache Layer:
10 ounces chocolate
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the White Chocolate Striping:
4 ounces white chocolate
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line pan with a “sling” foil (see photos).
For the Crust:
Combine graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and melted butter in a bowl. Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7 – 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool while making cheesecake portion.
For the Chocolate Cheesecake:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until fully combined and smooth; set aside. Place Kit Kat bars on top of crust. Pour cheesecake mixture over Kit Kat bars and bake for 30 – 35 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Preferably place in refrigerator when cool enough to touch.
For the Chocolate Ganache and White Chocolate Striping:
Melt chocolate and butter together and combine until smooth. Pour chocolate over baked cheesecake.
Melt the white chocolate, snip a small hole on the corner of a zip lock bag and fill it with the melted chocolate. Pipe across the chocolate ganache in horizontal rows from top to bottom. Use a toothpick and drag vertically through the lines of white chocolate (see photos). Refrigerate for at least 4 or 5 hours, but preferably overnight for best results (:
Serve & enjoy! For nice clean edges while cutting, run hot water over the knife’s blade and wipe away the moisture before cutting. Along with that, wipe the blade down between cuts.
Storage Note: This can be prepared 3 days in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Monica Cheng 