Feb 01, 2019, Updated Jan 19, 2024 I’ve been working toward a go-to chocolate cheesecake recipe that would satisfy the deepest of chocolate cravings. Here we have it. In this perfect chocolate cheesecake, a crumbly, chocolate wafer crust belies an incredibly rich filling with a pillow of softly whipped vanilla cream for lightness. Swirl in some (optional) fudge-y ganache for an experience you won’t soon forget.
A Few Secrets To Rich Chocolate Cheesecake
1 – Use Both Chocolate and Cocoa Powder To amp up the deep chocolate flavour, the key is to employ both melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder adds a depth that can’t be achieved by chocolate alone. 2 – Add Vanilla and Salt A good pinch of salt and a splash of real vanilla both enhance the chocolate flavour in important ways. 3 – Use Quality Chocolate Do I have to splurge on expensive chocolate? Usually for baking, I do reach for premium dark chocolate. The creaminess, perfect melting, and not-to-sweet, fruity cocoa flavour can’t be matched in a bag of chocolate chips. Purchased in bulk at a warehouse store it is cheaper, but I still have to turn a blind eye to the price tag and bury the box under apples and bread so that I don’t notice when it goes through the scanner. (Life skillz.) However, because I was testing this recipe a few times, I opted for much-less-expensive bulk-bin dark chocolate so that I wouldn’t choke on the cost. I tasted the batter before the cocoa was added and it tasted ok. It was a bit one-dimensional, a bit too sweet. It was fine, but not incredible. Then I added the cocoa powder and BOOM. Magic happened. The cocoa powder picked up where the chocolate left off and added a layer of deep, dark richness that totally took the cake to a new level. I served it to some of my foodie-est friends and they totally loved it. I honestly couldn’t tell that it wasn’t made with $30 of fancy chocolate. Chocolate chips, you win this round. (Don’t buy the cheapest chocolate chips that taste like wax and have weird ingredients though. Middle ground, ok?)
A Few Tricks For Chocolate Cheesecake
Start by making the crust. I like to save myself another dirty bowl and mix the ingredients right in the springform pan. When combined, I use a flat-bottomed measuring cup to press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides. While crust bakes, I melt the chocolate before starting on the cheesecake filling. It should come to room temperature by the time you’re ready for it. I use a microwave on medium power for melting, but you could use a double boiler if you prefer.
How to Prevent Cheesecake From Cracking
When combining ingredients, a cheesecake differs from a normal cake. The goal with the beaters is simply to combine, and not to incorporate air. The more air you beat in (especially when adding the eggs), the more the cake will rise, and the more likely it’ll be to crack (if you care about that kind of thing).
How To Tell When Cheesecake is Done
For testing doneness in the cheesecake, a cooking thermometer is most foolproof option. The centre of the cake should be 150ºF. The cake will still have some jiggle in the middle (I mean all good things have that, am I right ladies?). By the time the cake cracks, it’s likely a bit overdone (or was over-beaten), but who cares, it’s still delicious, and whipped cream fixes all sins.
More Cheesecake Recipes Everyone LOVES:
Classic Philadelphia Cheesecake (with a creamy 3-Ingredient filling!) No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake Bars Cheesecake Popsicles Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Easy Caramel Apple Cheesecake Recipe Easter Egg Cheesecake Sweet Potato Cheesecake (with tasty Pecan Crust for Cheesecake)
