A great mother is something that you can never take for granted. I am very fortunate that I get to work with my mom, Sally James, on a daily basis. The time that we have spent working on Taylor Takes A Taste, on assignments for commercial clients, and The Southern Tailgating Cookbook is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. In talking about Mother’s Day 2013 and how we were going to celebrate, Sally and I decided that celebrations are best with some type of cake! The cake for this Mother’s Day is something that my grandmother (Sally’s Mom) and my new mother-in-law will love! It is a Heath Bar Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache Glaze. My grandmother likes both chocolate and cheesecake. My mother-in-law loves chocolate and Heath bars. When you combine the three elements, you get a dessert that any mother will love! Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

Heath Bar Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Makes 1( 9 1/2 inch) pan

Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Cheesecake

4 (8 oz ) blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
pinch salt
4 eggs plus 1 yolk, room temperature
1 3/4 cup chopped Heath Milk Chocolate English Toffee

Ganache

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

9 1/2 inch nonstick springform pan, buttered

Preheat oven to 325

In a small bowl add the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and brown sugar. Stir with a fork until well blended. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the buttered base of the springform pan. Set aside.
Add the cream cheese to the work bowl of a stand mixer. Beat cream cheese on medium speed until blended and the consistency of thick frosting.

With the mixer running, add the granulated sugar. When it is incorporated, add the brown sugar. Stop mixer and scrape the batter off the sides of the bowl. Set the mixer to low speed and add the vanilla and almond extracts, and the salt. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated after each addition.

Remove the batter from the mixer stand. Fold the chopped Heath bars in with a spatula until incorporated. Empty the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes until cheesecake is set and wiggles only slightly in the center. Remove cheesecake from the oven. Gently run a knife around the edges of the cake. Cool cake in pan. When cool, release the lock on the outer rim of the pan and remove the outer rim. Chill cake in refrigerator for 4 hours.

To make the ganache, put the chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Add the boiling cream to the chocolate chips. Stir the mixture with a fork until blended. Let ganache cool for 5 minutes. Stir. Pour ganache on the top of the cheesecake, spreading with a spoon. Return cheesecake to the refrigerator and chill for 3 more hours or overnight. Serve.

Recipe ©Sally James

Photography ©Taylor Mathis

Sally likes both roses and china plates so this picture is for her! Happy Mother’s Day Mom!