Monday, January 12, 2009

Rich Chocolate Cheesecake


I've only tried chocolate cheesecake once (the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory) and I was not a big fan. My boyfriend has wanted me to make a chocolate cheesecake for a while but I was reluctant because of my previous experience. So I was really happy that this chocolate cheesecake was much much better than The Cheesecake Factory one. It was the perfect mix of chocolate and cheesecake and I'll definitely make it again. In fact, I really do need to make it again because the first time I baked it for too long so it was very dense - still delicious, but dense. The texture was like a combination of chocolate fudge and cheesecake. It won't be like this if you bake it the way it's meant to be though.

Oh and one other thing I should say - I'm falling in love with The Cake Book by Tish Boyle (which is where I got this recipe from). So many different kinds of cake and they all sound so good! I'm dying to make the sticky toffee pudding, and well, basically every single recipe. Plus the recipes are well organized and she gives weights for flours, sugars, etc.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Lemon Cheesecake
Chocolate Chunk Malt Cookies
Quintuple Chocolate Brownies
Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting


Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
Adapted from The Cake Book

I halved this recipe and it made three 4.5 inch cheesecakes, but could also have made four if I didn't fill them so full. I baked mine for 50 minutes which was too long so next time I'll try 35-40 minutes. It's meant to make one 9-inch cake though. I've written the recipe in the proportions to make one 9 inch cheesecake. I used Oreo cookie crumbs instead of the Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafer crumbs, though I imagine they're basically the same thing.

Chocolate Crumb Crust
1 1/2 cups (180 g) Oreo cookie crumbs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Filling
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds (680 g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, divided
3 tbsp (15 g) natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (180 mL) heavy cream (cool but not cold)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp Kahlua (or Cognac)

Make the crust:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x3-inch springform pan. Cut an 18 inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the outside of the pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter. Pat the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, until set.

3. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool the crust completely. Leave the oven on.

Make the filling:
4. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the chocolate over the hot water.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium-low speed until creamy and lump-free, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the sugar and beat until blended. Add the cocoa powder and mix until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand.

6. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat at high speed until tripled in volume, about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl and whisk from the mixer stand and replace them with the bowl containing the cream cheese mixture and the paddle attachment. Mixing at low speed, gradually add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure that the mixture is even-textured. Mix in the melted chocolate. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and Kahlua (or Cognac) and mix until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir the filling several times to ensure that it is evenly blended.

7. Scrap the filling over the baked crust in the pan. Place the pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough hot water into the pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 65 to 75 minutes, until the center of the cake is set but slightly wobbly (the cake will set completely as it cools).

8. Remove the cake pan from the water bath. Place the pan on a wire rack and carefully loosen the foil. Immediately run the tip of a paring knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking. Let the cake cool completely. (My note: Make sure you take the aluminum foil off as soon as you remove the cake from the water bath.)

9. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.

10. To serve, slice the cake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.

29 comments:

Amy said...

Mmmm I love cheesecake. Mmmmm I love chocolate! This looks and sounds like my idea of chocolate cheesecake heaven! Yum!

Anonymous said...

Wow, does that ever look decadent and delicious! Now I'm craving chocolate for some odd reason though... ;)

Anonymous said...

I think cheesecake is my favorite cake, and chocolate cheesecake is my favorite cheesecake!! This looks incredibly rich and dense--perfect. Do you have any of Maida Heatter's cookbooks (they're pretty old these days, I guess). Her cheesecakes are always flawless.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Decadence at its finest.

Nicole said...

OH MY! I'm honestly drooling over here, girl!

Bunny said...

I've never made chocolate cheesecake, I want to though. It just keeps being pushed to the back. This looks so good!!

Sara said...

This looks amazing, the oreo crust takes it over the top!

Joanna said...

i tried that same cheesecake from cheesecake factory and it didn't do it for me either. all i could taste was chocolate- there was no other flavor or pizazz to it. i think it would've been better if it had a raspberry filling or something fruity to accompany it. the best cheesecake there is adam's peanut butter fudge ripple. i went back to c.f. after i became vegan, and i wanted to cry because i couldn't eat it!! haha

Anonymous said...

that looks delicious! looks like a big chocolate oreo!

grace said...

better than the cheesecake factory?!?! say it ain't so! :)
seriously, i don't particularly like any of the cheesecakes i've eaten there, with one exception--white chocolate raspberry. awesome.

Anonymous said...

omg that cake is so beautiful! the crust looks like my favorite part!

Snooky doodle said...

wow this looks delicious! Im not a big fan of cheesecake but I think chocolate cheesecake like this would be an exception :)

Cakespy said...

HELL YES! This looks so decadent and delicious. Looks like it weighs as much as (or maybe more than?) a baby. This is a compliment!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

We love cheesecakes. This is so gorgeous.

CookiePie said...

Gorgeous cheesecakes! I'm usually not a big cheesecake fan but yours look so delicious...

Fran Z said...

Looks soooo delicious! I have had that cookbook from the the library- it is good!

Johanna GGG said...

this looks perfect - I am disappointed by the faded chocolate looks and tastes of some choc cheesecakes but this looks as rich and decadent as it ought to be

Anonymous said...

This looks so sinful!!! Yummy!

Anonymous said...

This looks so tasty! Perfect for breakfast! :)

Katrina said...

Whoa! It sure looks GREAT!

kickpleat said...

i'm not a huge cheesecake fan, but this looks great! i think i'll have to give it another chance too.

Linda said...

WOWZA...that looks sinfully delicious!!!!

Fitness Foodie said...

That looks so rich! I would love to try that with a nice red wine or cup of espresso.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Ewwwwww, gorgeous! I keep going back to have another look at the photo and I am not ashamed to admit, drooling!

Is the foil there to act as a collar above the pan to catch it as it rises or is it folded for insulation?

eatme_delicious said...

Holler: I think the foil is there to prevent water seeping into the cheesecake (since it's sitting in a water bath).

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Ok, that makes sense! I haven't made a cheesecake this way before, so I was a bit clueless :)

Anonymous said...

Your photo's just make my mouth water every time I check out your blog. Two of my favorites, Chocolate and Cheesecake. Definitely going to make this one!

steph said...

I love the idea of an Oreo biscuit base! That sounds fantastic.

Brilynn said...

I'm a big fan of cheesecake so this looks wonderful to me!