Chocolate Cheesecake

Sorghum Flour Pressed Pie Crust

1 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup walnuts, pulverized in a blender
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons cold water

Filling 
4 eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar (in two 1/3 cup quantities)
1 1b. (2 8-oz. packs) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (I like Enjoy Life®)
1/2 cup hot coffee
2 tablespoons dark rum (rum that is not flavored is considered gluten-free)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust
Pulverize walnuts in a blender. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until mixed. Press (do not roll) into a 9-inch springform pan. (If possible, cut a piece of parchment paper about 1-inch larger than the bttom of the pan to seal the butter; otherwise, place a cookie sheet on the oven rung below the pan to catch any melted butter.)

Filling
Melt chocolate using warmer tray, warmer burner, or double boiler. Add hot coffee, rum, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks with only 1/3 cup sugar until lemon-colored. Cut cream cheese into one-inch cubes and beat into egg mixture. Then beat in chocolate mixture.

Whisk egg whites to soft peak stage. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup sugar until stiff peak stage is reached. Using a rubber spatula, fold egg whites carefully into chocolate mixture.

Pour onto crust and bake one hour at 350 degrees; do not use the convection option. If you did not line the pan with parchment, place a cookie sheet below the pan to keep butter from dripping on oven floor. Bake until top is set. Open oven and allow to cool for the first hour in the oven. Refrigerate at least four hours before eating. Yield: 12 servings.

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