The Best Chocolate Cheesecake Ever

You love cheesecake? You love chocolate? This is one of the best cheesecake recipes you’ll ever come across! This easy chocolate cheesecake will have family and friends begging you to tell them where you bought it and you can bask in the glory when you tell them you made it yourself. It’s rich, smooth and velvety- everything a great cheesecake should be. You can make this up to several days ahead of a party and keep it in the refrigerator carefully wrapped in plastic wrap. Simply garnish with fresh berries before serving.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter
2 packages regular cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate pieces
8-inch baking pan with side release
Strawberries or Raspberries to garnish

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Add the cinnamon and into the food processor; mix until a dough-like consistency forms. Spread the graham cracker mixture on the bottom of the pie pan evenly going up the sides just a little bit. Bake crust for 10 minutes; take out of the oven and allow to cool. Do not turn off the oven.

In a stand mixer (or use an electric mixer), combine the room-temperature cream cheese, sour cream and eggs until smooth. Add the salt, sugar, baking powder and vanilla extract; mix until just combined. Let sit for a moment.

Using a double boiler (alternatively, place a heat-proof bowl over a simmering pot of water such that the bottom of the bowl does not directly touch the simmering water) melt the dark chocolate pieces, whisking until smooth. This should only take a few minutes.

Once the chocolate has melted, slowly pour the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture while the stand mixer is on low. Do not pour the melted chocolate too quickly as its heat will curdle the cream cheese mixture. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary (stop the stand mixer before scraping down) and whisk together again until thoroughly combined.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan and bake for approximately 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly moist; the cheesecake should be a dark chocolate mousse like color. Resist the urge to over-bake. Even if the middle of the cake is slightly jiggly, that’s fine. It is not supposed to be completely solid as the cake will solidify further in the refrigerator.

Remove from the oven and let the cake stand at room temperature until cooled (30-45 minutes). Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Garnish with fresh berries before serving.

Browse other Dessert Recipes.