Martha's No Bake Halloween Cheesecake

It's no secret that I LOVE MARTHA! As someone who is new to baking, I thought something that said "no bake" in the title was fitting. That was until I overfilled my food processor when making the chocolate ganache and ended with cream all over the place! Mess aside, I figured it out and was able to put together this cute dessert. However, if you look at the picture on Martha's website, my version looks like a toddler made it! Nonetheless, I'm still proud of myself. I hope you enjoy!

Crust

• Vegetable oil, cooking spray

• 18 ounces chocolate wafers (about 90), finely ground (4 1/2 cups) or chocolate biscotti

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Ganache

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent), finely chopped

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Filling

• 32 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold

Crust

Coat a 10-inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Mix wafersor biscotti , sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl. Pat mixture into pan, pressing firmly into bottom and all the way up sides. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Ganache

Place chocolate in a food processor. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, process until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons ganache for decorating, and spread the remainder evenly on bottom and all the way up sides of crust. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to fill.

Filling

1. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add sugar and salt. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until very fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in lemon juice.

2. Whisk cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Whisk 1/4 of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture, then fold in remaining whipped cream. Pour filling into crust, and spread evenly. Gently tap bottom of pan on counter to release air bubbles.

3. Transfer reserved ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. I don’t own a pastry bag so I used a gallon sized freezer bag with the bottom right corner cut off. Starting in the center of the cheesecake, pipe a spiral, spacing lines about 1/2 inch apart. Pull the tip of a paring knife in a gently curved line from the center of the spiral to outer edge. Wipe knife clean, and repeat every inch or so to form a web.

4. Cover, and freeze for at least 1 hour or overnight. Unmold cheesecake and garnish. I would honestly plan on letting it freeze overnight. I tried the one hour method and it was definitely better the next day.

*Recipe curtesy of www.marthastewart.com You should look it up….makes mine look comical!