Pre-heat the oven to 325ºF.

Place the graham cracker in a food processor and process to obtain fine crumbs.

Melt the butter and mix with the crumbs.

Press the mixture on the bottom of an 8” or 9” cheesecake pan. If using an 8” springform pan, it must be deep.

Bake the crust in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool down.

Grease the sides of the pan with oil spray after baking the crust.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted. Set aside and let it cool down.

Beat the cream cheese for 3 minutes with a mixer at medium speed, until creamy.

Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and espresso powder (if using) to the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes at medium speed.

Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.

Add the sour cream and mix to combine. Scrape the bowl.

Next, add the melted chocolate to the bowl and mix.

Make sure to scrape the bowl a few times during the mixing process, to avoid the cream cheese from forming lumps in the batter.

Add the eggs to the batter, mix just until combined. It’s best to add one egg at a time, waiting for one egg to be incorporated before adding the next one.

Add the vanilla, salt, and mix briefly.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the baked crust. Use a spatula to spread the batter out evenly.

Wrap the bottom of the pan with a few layers of aluminum foil.

Place the pan in a larger roasting pan, and add hot water to the roasting pan, to form a water bath. This is very important so the cheesecake doesn’t crack.

Bake the cheesecake in the pre-heated 325ºF oven for 65 to 75 minutes.

To check if the cheesecake is done baking, give the pan a little wiggle, it should jiggle slightly in the center, but the edges should look set.

Turn the oven off, and leave the cheesecake in there for 1 hour.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Don’t remove the ring from the springform pan until after the chill time.

Mix the heavy cream and corn syrup (if using) in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it up until the cream is hot.

Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it stand for a minute. Whisk until the chocolate has completely melted with the cream.

Set the ganache aside until it cools down and thickens. You can place it in the fridge and stir every 5 to 10 minutes to speed up the setting process.

You can make the ganache ahead and keep it in the fridge. Before decorating the cheesecake remove the ganache from the fridge. You can either microwave very gently for a few seconds and stir frequently until the ganache is smooth and spreadable, or let it sit on the counter for at least one hour to soften.

Beat the heavy cream, cocoa powder, powdered sugar with a mixer. Start on low and raise the speed to medium-high until the cream is thick and incorporated.

It should take about 3 minutes or so to achieve stiff peaks.

Place the whipped cream in a piping bag lined with the tip of your choice, I used tip 4B.

Spoon the ganache on top of the cheesecake, and spread with a spatula. You can use an offset spatula to make it easier to smooth out the ganache on top of the cheesecake.

Pipe the Chocolate Whipped Cream on the cheesecake, and place chocolate truffles on top to decorate.

You can use a vegetable peeler to shave little curls of chocolate on top of the cheesecake.