Preheat oven to 325°F
Crush your graham crackers finely either in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor. Add to a bowl when crushed.
185 g Graham crackers
Add cocoa powder and mix well.
5 g Dutch cocoa powder
Add your melted butter and stir until combined into a sandy mixture.
56 g Salted butter
Dump into an 8 inch springform or cake pan. If not using a springform, lining with parchment with some overhang to help you pull the cheesecake out of the pan will be helpful.
Spread the mixture evenly and press into place to create a crust.
Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes on the center rack. When finished baking, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
While crust is baking, pour your cream into a small saucepan over low heat. Heat cream but do not bring to a boil.
170 g Heavy cream
Measure out your tea. If you have a pestle and mortar, I like to grind the tea a little further before pouring it into the heavy cream. This isn't required but optional.
15 g Loose leaf thai tea
Steep the tea in the cream for about 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for another 5 minutes or so.
Strain the tea cream mixture into a bowl. Tiny flecks will be in the cream which is fine, but you don't want large pieces of tea leaf.
In the bowl of your stand mixer with paddle attached, add your sugar and cream cheese and mix for about 2 minutes on low-medium until it's creamy and smooth.
678 g Cream Cheese | 3 large Eggs
Add your eggs one a time, mixing each for 30-60 seconds until they are completely incorporated into the cream cheese mix.
Add your vanilla and measure out ½ cup/113g of your thai tea heavy cream, then add that to the cheesecake batter. Mix in and make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl so everything is mixed well.If you have any left over Thai tea cream, this can be used to make a Thai tea flavored whipped cream to top the cheesecake with. Pour your cheesecake mixture into the cooled crust.
Optional: Prepare a water bath for your cheesecake. I use a large roasting pan and another cake pan. I place my 8 inch cheesecake pan inside a 9 inch cake pan, and then the cake pan inside in the roasting pan. Add about an inch of water into the roasting pan. (See photo above)If your cheesecake pan doesn't fit or you don't have a pan that it fits inside of, many people wrap their cheesecake pan in layers of tin foil. I personally have used oven roasting bags, securing the sides around the edge of the springform pan so the top of the cheesecake is still exposed but no water can reach the bottom of the pan. Bake your cheesecake on the center rack for about 50-60 minutes. Your cheesecake is ready when the edges are set but the center still jiggles when the pan is gently shaken/moved. Turn off the oven and leave it cracked open with the cheesecake inside for 1 hour.
After the cheesecake has cooled in the turned off oven for an hour, remove and place directly in the refrigerator, uncovered, to chill overnight or at least 8 hours.
Slice and serve after chilling. Cheesecake is best eaten within about 2 days but will be good up to about 5 days. It can also be frozen after it's overnight chill. Enjoy!
