Surprisingly, my two younger kids do not like traditional birthday cakes, so throughout the years I had to put their candles on fruit pies or cheesecakes instead. Last week my son was turning 21 and I was wondering what to make for this special occasion. Meanwhile, I got a message on Facebook from an old Canadian friend of ours who used to live in Budapest with his wife and young children 18 years ago. We had a great chat, remembering fun times together and all of a sudden I thought of the recipe his wife gave me for this delicious chocolate cheesecake. Believe it or not, I still have the handwritten version. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did, thank you Laura Rowe!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of Ricotta Cheese
• 8 oz of 2% Cottage Cheese (with no salt)
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour

For the Crust:

• 1 & 1/2 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoon of butter
• 1-2 tablespoon of cold water (use as much as it needs for the crumbs to stick together)

For the Topping:

• 1 cup of sour cream (you can use light, I used regular)
• 2 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

In a small bowl, combine chocolate crumbs, butter, water and mix well with a fork. Pat into bottom and sides of an 8 inch spring-form pan. (use 6 or 7 inch pan if you want your cake to be a bit taller) Refrigerate while you are preparing the filling.

In a food processor, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla and process until smooth. Add cocoa powder and flour and blend until just combined. Pour into crust and bake in preheated oven at 350 for about 35 to 45 minutes or until cheesecake is set around the edges but still slightly loose in the center. Mix sour cream sugar and vanilla together and pour over hot cheesecake, then bake it for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let it completely cool before placing it in the refrigerator for a few hours. Garnish it with whipped cream and your choice of berries. Happy 21st to my son Christopher! #momslove