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.