This recipe is WONDERFUL! Joshua really summed it up well!

I made it for my mother's birthday tonight, and here are my observations...

The water bath didn't seem to do a lot of good in my stove. I have an electric stove, so I don't know if gas makes a difference, but my cheesecake still cracked. :(

Also, I'd let this puppy cool off for an hour at least outside (if it is cold where you are!) before loosening the springmold. I think that contributed to the cracking.

Texture-wise....HOLY COW! It was incredible. I've had cheapo frozen cheesecakes and 60 dollar cheesecakes...this takes the cake. Literally. I bet it would work just as well if you cut the recipe by 1/3 and added strawberry or rasperry jam instead of chocolate....or all three...mmmm.

This recipe was just too good to be true...but it wasn't! The only thing I really changed was the crust. I didn't have chocolate graham crackers, so I substituted Oreo cookies smashed up with some melted butter poured over them.

Also, we only got 8 pieces...the 16 piece serving idea is great in theory, but in practice, man! I want a big chunk. We should call this "Lady's Friend Cheesecake"; it satisfies those hormonal chocolate fixes for sure!

Joshua, keep those cheesecake recipes coming! Well done!