Sometimes recipes don’t always work out as planned. For instance this Mexican Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake. The title sounds tempting, right? But as you can see by my photos the cheesecake is a tad mushy and cracked.

I’m not gonna lie, I was hoping for a much prettier result, and the perfectionist in me almost threw it out just because it was not “perfect”. I almost didn’t share this recipe but after thinking about it I wanted to share that not all of our kitchen adventures are flawless. Do you remember my first Rosca de Reyes and my Mexican Chololate Guinness Cake? Sometimes food is not perfect, just like life.

I thought about retesting this recipe but I know what I did wrong, and so I figured I’d share the story of mishaps and hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. But let me just say this recipe is delicious as-is if you love Kahlua. The reason I say if is because I added a touch too much Kahlua and so I’m guessing that explains the very wet cheesecake. Next time I make this recipe I will take it easy on the liqueur and only add ¼ cup of Kahlua and not ½ cup. The recipe below includes the corrections so your recipe should look much prettier. But just know that this cheesecake, although not spectacular looking, was delicious, rich, and decadent.

Do you see the cracks on my cheesecake? My mom said it cracked because I removed the cheesecake too soon from the oven after baking it. The trick to preventing cracks in a cheesecake is to turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit inside the oven for an hour.

You can also see my slice is not very neat. A tip to cutting clean cheesecake slices is to use a knife dipped in warm water.

With this not so perfect cheesecake we wanted to wish you a very special Feliz Navidad. Please don’t let stress ruin your holidays! The holidays can be a time of great joy and fun memories. Enjoy the holidays and try to not be so perfect. Christmas isn’t always gingerbread houses and mistletoe.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and stress-free holiday season!

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” ~Anna Quindlen

Mexican Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake

5 (2 ratings)
This Mexican Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake comes with a spiced gingerbread crust, a generous splash of Kaluah and Mexican chocolate sauce for the ultimate holiday decadence!

Ingredients

Cheesecake:

  • 12 ounce ginger snaps, finely crushed
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • ¼ cup Kahlua
  • 3 tablets Mexican chocolate, melted

Mexican Chocolate Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 ounce tablet Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, optional for thicker chocolate
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur, optional

Instructions 

  • To Make Crust:
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Assemble a 9-inch springform pan with the raised side of the bottom facing down.
  • Place gingersnaps in food processor and process until fine crumbs form. Move ginger crumbs to small bowl and add melted butter. Press mixture into bottom of springform pan. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 10 minutes, and set aside.
  • To Make Filling:
  • In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, salt, and cream cheese. Add vanilla and mix 1 minute. Add eggs to cream cheese mixture, one at a time.
  • Add cream, milk, Kahlua, and melted chocolate; blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  • Pour filling onto crust, and bake just until set, 1 hour. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake sit 1 hour in oven, without opening (this helps prevent cracking).
  • Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan (this helps prevent cracking, too); leave in pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cover loosely and refrigerate, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight so the flavors have time to blend and the texture becomes nice and firm.
  • Unmold cheesecake. As an option drizzle some Mexican Chocolate Sauce over each slice.
  • To make Chocolate Sauce:
  • Heat 1/2 cup cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until cream comes to a low boil.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and add Mexican chocolate. Let chocolate sit in the hot cream 3 to 5 minutes to soften, and then whisk chocolate together with the cream. Stir in butter, cocoa powder (optional), vanilla, cinnamon, and liqueur (optional).
  • If chocolate becomes too thick, stir in more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to desired consistency.

Notes

  • Do you see the cracks on my cheesecake? My mom said it cracked because I removed the cheesecake too soon from the oven after baking it. The trick to preventing cracks in a cheesecake is to turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit inside the oven for an hour.
  • A tip to cutting clean cheesecake slices is to use a knife dipped in warm water.
Calories: 472kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 123mg, Sodium: 230mg, Potassium: 200mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 843IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 3mg

Written by Yvette / Photos by Yvette