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Adapted from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts, 
edited by Mildred Ying

I recommend using a water bath for this recipe in order to ensure a smooth and creamy cheesecake.  Makes 20 servings.

Crust:
8 oz graham crackers
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Tbs. melted butter

Place graham crackers in food processor.   Blend until graham crackers are in fine crumbs.  Add cocoa powder, mix until combined.  Add butter in a slow stream.  Mix until combined and crumbs are moist.   Put mixture into a 10” springform pan.  Press mixture evenly onto the bottom of the pan and up the sides of the pan within ½” of the top of the pan.  Use the backside of a metal spoon or the bottom of a glass to evenly smooth the crumbs on the pan.  Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil in order to prevent water from seeping in while the cake is in the water bath.  Cover and place in refrigerator.

Filling:
1 lb high quality white chocolate
4 - 8oz packages cream cheese (2 lbs)
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 Tbs. vanilla extract 

I prefer a nonstick, 10” springform pan; if it is not non-stick, grease it well with butter.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt chocolate in a stainless steel bowl placed over simmering water (a double boiler).  Stir chocolate frequently.  When chocolate is almost totally melted, remove from heat and stir vigorously until it is smooth.  Set aside.

In a food processor or mixer, beat cream cheese and ½ cup of butter until smooth.  Slowly beat in sugar, scraping the bowl often with a spatula.  Add melted white chocolate, eggs, and vanilla extract, beating just until smooth.  Pour cream cheese mixture into springform pan.  Place springform pan into a larger pan, such as a larger cake pan or roasting pan.  Pour very hot water into the larger pan until 1” deep.  Place in oven and bake 45 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in the closed oven for 1 hour.  DO NOT open oven door.  Cheesecakes are delicate and the drastic change in temperature can cause it to sink.  Remove cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool at least 2 hours on a wire rack - it will be somewhat jiggly until setting up.  Place cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours, preferably 24 hours, before serving.

Garnish:
Block or bar of white chocolate for chocolate curls (couverture chocolate works best)
Block or bar of bittersweet or semi-sweet for chocolate curls (couverture chocolate works best)

To garnish cheesecake, make chocolate curls out of white chocolate and bittersweet chocolate.  The key to making chocolate curls is the temperature of the chocolate.  If the chocolate is too cool, pieces will just break off.  If the chocolate is too warm, long pieces of the chocolate will come off, but they will not curl.  I found that using room temperature chocolate and holding it in my hands for a while produced a workable temperature chocolate.  Once the chocolate is the proper temperature, run a peeler across the side of the bar using moderate pressure to produce curls.  After trying a few different peelers, I found the Henckels swivel peeler worked best.  My first few tries at making curls were quite unsuccessful; thankfully, I got the hang of it through trial and error.  So please do not give up.  Making chocolate curls just takes a little practice.

Once the curls are formed, they are very delicate.  In order to put curls on the cake without breaking them, I recommend using a fork or toothpick to pick up the individual curls and place them on the cake.  Use a very gentle touch.