Christmas in Paris Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Recipe

This dessert recipe will rock your holiday socks off. Christmas in Paris tea adds a hint of lavender and peppermint to the chocolate swirl that will earn you colossal applause if you serve it up for Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve dessert.

Recipe provided and created by STASH Tea

Ingredients:

For Cheesecake Crust

• ⅓ cup melted butter
• 2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup cocoa powder.                

For Cheesecake

• 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 8-oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
• ⅓ cup sugar

For Chocolate Swirl Topper

• 5 Stash Christmas in Paris tea bags steeped in 6 oz hot water for 10 minutes
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons Crisco

Directions:

First, make the cheesecake crust:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray 8” round glass pie dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, stir to combine all Cheesecake Crust ingredients listed above. Press the resulting mixture into the bottom of the pie dish and up along the sides to form the crust.
3. Pre-bake crust in the pie dish for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
    

Second, make the cheesecake filling:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add in the condensed milk and vanilla.
3. Add the eggs in one at a time, as the mixer continues to beat the filling.
4. Beat the combined ingredients until creamy, and small peaks form, being careful not to overbeat.
5. Pour half of the filling into the pie dish on top of the crust.

Next, for the Stash Christmas in Paris chocolate topping:

1. Combine 4 tablespoons of Christmas in Paris tea with the ingredients for the chocolate swirl topper in a tall, microwavable bowl.
2. Microwave on high in 10-second intervals. Stir after every interval. Be careful as the bowl might get very hot. Once the mixture is a smooth texture, remove from microwave.
    

Make the Christmas in Paris chocolate swirls

1. Pour the chocolate topping in ½ inch thick vertical lines along the top of the cheesecake filling, about 1 inch apart.
2. Starting at the bottom, stick a toothpick 1/2 inch deep into the left side of the topping and drag it across to the right. Move the toothpick up 1 inch and repeat the motion, this time dragging from the right to the left. Continue until the whole cheesecake has been swirled.
3. Gently pour the remaining cheesecake filling into the dish and repeat the chocolate swirl steps.

Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and allow it to cool inside the oven for 1 hour (this prevents cracking). Once cooled, refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Top with chocolate shavings and/or whipped cream.