MAKES ONE 8'' CAKE

Baking ideas, like the one for this variation on Craig Claiborne's basic cheesecake recipe, "just come" to Heatter, she says. "I'll be driving along in my car," she explains, "thinking about what to wear that night, when someone pokes me on the shoulder and says, 'Try this'. So I do."

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 lbs. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
 
This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #22