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1
The crust--in a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in instant coffee until dissolved.
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2
In a bowl, stir the crushed vanilla wafers, sugar, and chopped almonds together; stir in the butter mixture until well combined.
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3
Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
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4
The filling--In a big bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch; beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
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5
Add in eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
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6
Stir together the instant coffee and hot water until dissolved; add coffee mixture and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture; beat until smooth.
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7
Stir in whipping cream; pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
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8
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes; decrease temperature to 200 and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny.
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9
Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
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10
Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 30 minutes; chill, uncovered, overnight.
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11
Topping: in a small bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar, and coffee liqueur with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
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12
Pipe the whipped cream mixture around the edge of the cheesecake; garnish with chocolate-covered coffee beans; chill until serving time.
