Dark Chocolate lovers, Rejoice! This chocolate cheesecake can easily become one of your absolute favorite desserts. It combines the soft, velvety, smooth texture of a cheesecake and the bittersweet flavor of the dark chocolate. So delicious! I can't think of anything better tasting right now.
The base of the cheesecake is made of digestive biscuits and cocoa powder for an extra hint of chocolate and also for the fact that the flavor of the base needs to blend in with the rest of the cheesecake. You can also use chocolate flavored biscuits for the base and skip the cocoa powder altogether if you want to.
Also, for a true and great taste of dark chocolate, use one with at least 70% cocoa content.
There is nothing termed as enough chocolate in my dictionary. So, I topped (tried to actually) the cheesecake with a chocolate glaze. Though it doesn't look like a glaze but more of a thick chocolate cream :-( The reason being that I wanted some stability in the glaze and so thought of adding a little golden syrup (corn syrup) but ended up adding it twice by mistake, thereby making the glaze impossible to be drizzled. And so I just randomly decorated it with whatever came in my disappointed and sad mind at that time.
I seriously think and believe that it would be a better option to leave out the golden syrup altogether. I'm going to try the chocolate glaze without it the next time.
I've used a 7 inch springform pan to make this cheesecake simply because I hadn't used it since the time it was bought. But you can use a bigger size pan if you wish to, do remember that the recipe measurements would have to be changed accordingly.
Recipe Source: Bakingyummies
Makes one 7 inch cheesecake.
Ingredients
For the Biscuit Base
90 grams / 3.2 ounces hi-fibre digestive biscuits or graham crackers
35 grams / 1.2 ounces unsalted melted butter at room temperature
1 + 1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon caster or superfine sugar
For the Cream Cheese Mixture
75 grams / 2.6 ounces dark chocolate with minimum 70% cocoa content, chopped into small pieces (or use chips instead)
1 packet (227 grams / 8 ounces) full fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature
80 grams / 2.8 ounces caster or superfine sugar
2 medium eggs
25 grams / 1 ounce Crème Fraîche or sour cream at room temperature
For the Chocolate Glaze
20 grams / 0.7 ounce dark chocolate with minimum 70% cocoa content, chopped into small pieces (or use chips instead)
30 ml / 2 tablespoons double cream
1/4 teaspoon golden syrup or corn syrup (optional)
Method
For the Biscuit Base
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Butter sides of a 7 inch spring form pan and line the base with parchment paper.
In a food processor or a grinder, pulse the biscuits to fine crumbs. Take out 2 tablespoons of the crumbs and use them to dust the sides of the spring form pan. Add the melted butter, cocoa powder and the 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon caster sugar to the remaining crumbs and pulse until the mixture comes together. Press this mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 10 mins or until golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.
For the Cream Cheese Mixture
Reduce the oven temperature to 165 degrees C / 330 degrees F. Keep a pan full of water on low flame.
Put the dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and let the chocolate melt. Stir the chocolate frequently. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer on medium speed with the paddle attachment, process the cream cheese till it is soft and creamy(1-2 mins).
Reduce the speed to low. Add sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the bowl as and when required. Add the eggs and beat until well mixed. Add Crème Fraîche and beat for 1-2 mins. Add the slightly cooled dark chocolate and mix until combined.
Scrape the bowl and beat until smooth and thoroughly mixed.
Wrap the spring form pan till the edges thoroughly with aluminium foil(I wrap the pan twice till the edge for extra protection). Keep the pan in a roasting dish. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pan. Run a knife through the mixture slowly a couple of times to eliminate any air bubbles.
Fill the roasting dish with the boiling water till it reaches about halfway up the pan. Place the roasting dish in the oven and bake the cheesecake till the center jiggles a little when the pan is shaken slightly(about 30 mins). Switch off the oven and let the cake be in the oven for about half an hour.
Place the pan on a wire rack to cool and as soon as you can handle it, say about 5 mins later, remove the aluminium foil and let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once the cake is cooled, say 5-6 hours later, loosely place a tissue on top of the pan, place a cling film or an aluminium foil on top of the tissue. Secure the tissue and the cling film to the pan with a rubber band. Keep the covered pan in the refrigerator for at least 5 to 6 hrs or preferably overnight.
Once you want to eat the cheesecake, take it out from the refrigerator, remove the clingfilm or the foil and the tissue. Now run a knife or a spatula along the edges of the cheesecake. Carefully and slowly, remove the side of the pan.
For the Chocolate Glaze
In a thick bottom pan, combine the chocolate, cream and syrup (if using) and melt all the ingredients gently over a low heat. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool sightly and drizzle over the cheesecake in whatever fashion you like.
To slice the cheesecake, dip a sharp knife in warm water, pat it dry with a tissue or a cloth and cut through the cheesecake. Before you use the knife again, dip it again in the warm water and pat dry to clean. Repeat this process each time you use the knife. The reason we do this is to give each slice a clean look, otherwise you will have the cream cheese clinging to the knife and messing up the slices.
Enjoy your home made Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!
Once you want to eat the cheesecake, take it out from the refrigerator, remove the clingfilm or the foil and the tissue. Now run a knife or a spatula along the edges of the cheesecake. Carefully and slowly, remove the side of the pan.
For the Chocolate Glaze
In a thick bottom pan, combine the chocolate, cream and syrup (if using) and melt all the ingredients gently over a low heat. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool sightly and drizzle over the cheesecake in whatever fashion you like.
To slice the cheesecake, dip a sharp knife in warm water, pat it dry with a tissue or a cloth and cut through the cheesecake. Before you use the knife again, dip it again in the warm water and pat dry to clean. Repeat this process each time you use the knife. The reason we do this is to give each slice a clean look, otherwise you will have the cream cheese clinging to the knife and messing up the slices.
Enjoy your home made Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!
Cheesecake will keep well in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days.
A couple of things to take care of: 1. While preparing the cream cheese batter, do not over-mix it at any stage. Over-mixing creates air bubbles in the batter leading to holes and cracks in your baked cheesecake.
2. The reason a cheesecake is baked in a water bath is because it solves two purposes, first, it stops the cake from having a dry texture due to the moisture from the water thereby giving you a silky and velvety texture and second, the water helps to maintain a constant temperature in the oven so that the cheesecake bakes evenly greatly reducing the chances of cracks on the cheesecake's surface.
Happy Baking!!!
Happy Baking!!!
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