Brown Sugar & Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°. Wrap a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square) around a greased 9-in. springform pan. Combine cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup walnuts and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto bottom and 1 in. up sides of prepared pan and place on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool.
• Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add next 5 ingredients and 2 tablespoons maple syrup; beat until well blended. Add eggs; beat on low speed until combined. Pour over prepared crust, reserving 3 tablespoons of batter. Mix reserved cheesecake batter into cooled chocolate; drop spoonfuls over filling. Cut through batter and chocolate with a knife to swirl.
• Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake until center is just set but still jiggles when shaken, 50-65 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled.
• Remove rim from pan. Serve with whipped cream. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts; drizzle with remaining syrup.