Black & White Cheesecake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups sugar
25 None chocolate wafer cookies from one 9 oz package
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 None (8 oz) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
4 None large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 oz chopped dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
None None white chocolate ganache
None None dark and white chocolate leaves, whipped cream, raspberries, fresh mint (for garnish)

Preparation

Arrange the oven racks in the center and lower third of the oven. Place a baking dish or roasting pan on the bottom rack and fill halfway with water. Preheat the oven to 325\u00b0F.
Coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place 2 tablespoons of sugar and the cookies in a food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until moist. Press the mixture to the bottom of the springform pan. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until creamy, in the bowl of a standing mixer or using a hand mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Beat in the sour cream, flour and vanilla. Reserve 3 1/2 cups of the batter (this does not need to be refrigerated) and stir in the melted chocolate and almond extract into the remaining batter. Pour the chocolate batter over the crust. Bake the cheesecake on the center rack of the oven until the edges are just set but the center is still a bit jiggly, 30 to 35 mins.
Slowly pour the reserved vanilla batter over the chocolate layer and continue to bake until the cheesecake is just set but the center is slightly jiggly, another 40 to 45 mins. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the cheesecake cool for 20 mins. Remove and run a knife around the edge of the pan. Cool to room temperature and then chill overnight.
Before serving, let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour. Remove the sides of the pan. Garnish generously with the ganache and chocolate leaves (or curls) and top with berry.