Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

We had dinner with a friend from school on Friday and James volunteered me to make a cheesecake (my favorite thing!). I knew that our friend's wife was pregnant so I wanted to make something chocolaty. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it was a huge success -- perfectly rich and creamy. I followed the recipe almost exactly except that we had a lot more crust (we like crust).

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used chocolate graham crackers)
  
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 30 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (James chopped these up pretty small and they were perfect because they added flavor and texture but it wasn't chunks of nut)

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I mixed a little ghirardelli's baking semi-sweet chocolate with chocolate chips which actually turned out great. It wasn't too dark or too sweet)
  
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I left them out all day since I was at school and they blended BEAUTIFULLY)
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (best at room temperature)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Pour on melted caramel/pecan mixture and chill for 30 minutes.
2. To make the Caramel Filling: In a small saucepan, combine caramels and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
   
3. In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold 1/3 of the filling into the melted chocolate, then pour the chocolate mixture back into the filling and mix until no streaks remain. Pour into crust.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until center is almost set. Place a pan of water on rack underneath cheesecake as it bakes to help keep it from cracking. Cool in oven with door cracked open. Refrigerate at least 5 hours before serving.