Espresso Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

We had this for my birthday, wow, it was so yummy! Smooth, creamy, not too sweet, perfect like a good cup of  coffee and then some.
I used a pate sucree crust that you will find on the White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake recipe (on this blog, http://hearthandhospitality.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results ), this, in my humble opinion, is the perfect crust for most cheesecakes. It is easy to make, very tender and delicious.

Fond memories, it was so good while it lasted, mmmmm happiness.
Because this was going to be served in the evening, I used decaf instant coffee in the batter, I like to go to bed at a decent hour and if my son is not in bed then I can't go to bed, and if there is cheesecake he will be the first in line for as large a piece as he can beg. There are only two kinds of instant coffee I like Starbucks Via (did you see that coming ;) and Trader Joe's instant decaf. I prefer the former but enjoy the latter too. I dissolved the coffee granules in hot water so there wouldn't be flecks in the batter.
Crust:
Prebaked crust http://hearthandhospitality.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results
Batter:
3  8oz. packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 heaping tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
6 oz. mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 450F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and beat another minute or two. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and coffee.

Give it a good mixing so it is well incorporated and there are no streaks. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into crust.

Bake at 450F. for 10 minutes then turn oven to 250F. for an additional 40 minutes. I should be jiggly but not loose or liquid.

Cracks are okay, it happens. That's the white chocolate blueberry cheesecake beside it, yummy.
Now, while I have been sitting here typing, I have been wondering why I didn't put the other half of the bag of chocolate chips on the bottom of the crust, hmmm. You could also spread a chocolate ganache on top of the baked cheesecake. If you have more ideas please share them!
Until next time, it's salad for me for a week!