Kona Coffee Cheesecake

July 30: National Cheesecake Day

On a family trip to the Big Island, we went on a tour of a Kona coffee estate and picked peaberries and nibbled on coffee cherries right from the trees. We had been to other coffee farms on Kauai and Molokai before, but coffee from the island of Hawaii is rated among the world’s best!

When we bake Kona coffee cheesecake with a mocha crust and swirl topping, we make it with the best ingredients from the islands—100% Kona coffee, Big Island vanilla and Kauai coffee cookies. It is pricey and tastes rich but it is definitely worth the splurge on National Cheesecake Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Holiday Coffee Recipes)

For the mocha crust

• 1 ½ – 2 cups finely crushed cookies (we used a combination of Kauai Kookie brand Kona coffee macadamia nut cookies and Oreo Double Stuff—just the dark chocolate cookies without the “stuff”)
• ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

Directions

Place cookies in a zipper-top plastic bag. Crush carefully into crumbs using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium bowl. Mix in the cookie crumbs, adding more if it is too buttery. Press mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Set aside to cool while making the filling.

For the Kona coffee filling

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
• ½ cup sugar (we used C&H brand, granulated white)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (we used Hawaiian Vanilla Company brand)
• ¼ teaspoon coffee extract or flavoring
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup 100% Kona coffee, brewed and cooled

Directions

Cream the cheese with the sugar. Add the vanilla and coffee extracts. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the Kona coffee. Mix until the batter is smooth. Pour over the cooled crust. Make the mocha swirl topping.

For the mocha swirl topping

• 1 tablespoon instant Kona coffee crystals (we used Mulvadi brand)
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 squares (1/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
• 1-2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Dissolve the instant Kona coffee crystals in water. Mix in the cornstarch until blended well.  Melt the chocolate. In a saucepan, stir the coffee mixture with the melted chocolate over low heat until thickened. Add the butter and stir until melted. Drizzle decoratively over the top of the cheesecake batter.

Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover the pan and refrigerate at least six hours or overnight until the cheesecake is set. Run a butter knife or spatula around the edges to loosen, remove from the pan, brush off the crumbs and transfer the cheesecake to a round board or platter. Slice and serve chilled.

Notes

• Beware of the blends! Only coffee grown on Kona can be legally labeled as such. Coffee grown on the other Hawaiian islands must be labeled otherwise. Also, check the package for whether it is 100% or a blend (which might only contain 10% Kona coffee). Prices are set high for premium products!
• Some similar recipes recommend baking the crust in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes. But we skipped this step and the cheesecake still turned out fine.
• If necessary, cover the outside bottom and sides of the springform pan with foil to prevent leaks. Then bake the cheesecake as usual.
• Thanks to our friend Lisa L. for the expensive bottle of Big Island vanilla from Hawaii and for the springform pan from Germany.