Black Forest Cheesecake

My kids keep picking cheesecake as their birthday cakes this year! We had key lime and this chocolate cherry one too. I make this cheesecake the day before, and then just before serving, whip the cream and spread on the cherry topping. I use stabilized whipped cream because it holds it's shape longer, but you can use regular too.

Black Forest Cheesecake
Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate cookies (like chocolate graham crackers, teddy grahams, or oreos)
Pinch of salt
4 TBSPs butter, melted
Filling
3 packages of cream cheese
1½ cups sugar
2 TBSPs cornstarch
1 tsp almond extract
1 5.3 oz container of cherry yogurt
6 ounces of semi sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
3 eggs
Topping
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 tsps water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 can cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven and the second rack below it. Place a 9x13 inch pan filled with 1 inch of HOT water in the oven on the bottom rack. Spray a 9 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium sized bowl mix the chocolate cookie crumbs, and salt. Add the butter and stir until evenly combined. Dump the crust mixture into the prepared pan and evenly press it down around the pan and about 1/2 inch up the sides.
3. Place 1 package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and the cornstarch in a large mixing bowl and mix on low until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add remaining sugar, almond extract, yogurt, and melted chocolate, and mix on medium speed until blended, scraping down the bowl as needed. Blend in eggs, one at a time until completely blended, but do not overmix.
4. Pour the cheesecake filling onto the crust. Spread out evenly.
5. Bake on center rack for 1 hour until edges are set and only a slight jiggle in the middle.
6. Turn the oven off and open the door. Let cool in oven for 30 minutes. Then remove and let cool completely on wire rack. After it has cooled, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day.
7. When ready to eat, To make whipped cream, combine the gelatin powder and water in a small microwave safe bowl. Once water has been fully soaked up by the gelatin, microwave the mixture for 15-20 seconds. It should become a thick, hot liquid. Stir well and let sit at room temp. While gelatin is cooling, beat whipping cream and powdered sugar in large mixing bowl on med-high speed with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. With mixer running, slowly pour in the room temp gelatin and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
8. Using a piping bag with a star tip, pipe stars/swirls around the edge of the cheesecake. Spoon the cherry pie filling on top of the cheesecake in the center of the cake, and spread to the edge of the piping.