Spiderweb Cheesecake for Halloween

Put the cookies or cookie pieces into a food processor along with the flour and pulse until they are fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until the cookie crumbs begin to clump together (they will have the consistency of wet sand).

Press the cookies evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Put the milk in a small pot. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds inside. Put both the seeds and the bean into the pot with the milk. Heat the milk until it’s hot and steaming, but not boiling. Turn off the heat and let the vanilla and milk steep for about 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and and set the milk aside for now.

For the filling , put the cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is very smooth. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the milk with the vanilla bean seeds and mix until smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling into the pan with the crust. Place the pan on a cookie sheet lined with foil and place in the center of the oven.

Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour at 325°F until the cheesecake has set but is still soft and jiggly in the center (the filling will firm up as it cools). Remove and let cool.

Make the topping: Whip the heavy cream with the sugar just until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the sour cream just until combined.

Spread the topping over the cooled cheesecake.

To make the chocolate web: Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it just begins to simmer, then pour it over the chocolate and stir. Keep stirring until all the chocolate has melted. If the cream wasn't hot enough to melt all the chocolate, pop the bowl in a microwave for a few seconds and stir again.

Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a small tip (or a zip-top bag with one corner cut to form a pencil lead size opening). Pipe one central dot onto the cream topping, then six concentric circles around the dot, spaced about a 1/2-inch apart or until you get to the edge of the cake.

Use a toothpick or skewer to gently pull a line from the center circle to the outer edge of the cake. Wipe the toothpick clean and repeat until you have 8 evenly spaced lines. You now have a web pattern and also have marked the cake for 8 individual servings.

Garnish with a plastic or candy spider, if you like.

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