Chocolate Cheesecake
A rich chocolate cheesecake featuring three varieties of chocolate chunks.
Ingredients
Cream cheese
900 g
Granulated sugar
190 g
Vanilla extract
1 tsp
Eggs
4
Dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
200 g
Digestive biscuits (for the base)
200 g
Cocoa powder (for the base)
2 tbsp
Unsalted butter (for the base, melted)
150 g
Instructions
1
Make the chocolate base
Coarsely break the digestive biscuits and place them into a food processor together with the cocoa powder, then pulse to fine crumbs. Slowly pour in the melted butter while the processor is still running. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a cake pan, using your hands or the back of a spoon to compact it. Chill in the refrigerator.
2
Make the cheesecake batter
Place the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until smooth and thick. Add the eggs one at a time, continuing to mix. After the second egg and after the last egg, run a spatula around the inside of the bowl. Mix until very smooth and silky. You may increase the speed at the end to make the batter lighter, but do not overmix.
3
Melt the chocolate
Place the dark chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and melt until smooth. Spoon a small amount of the cheesecake batter into the melted chocolate and stir to combine, then gradually add more cheesecake batter to balance the temperature difference between the two mixtures. Finally, pour all of the cheesecake batter into the chocolate and mix until evenly combined.
4
Bake the cake
Spoon the chocolate cheesecake batter over the chilled base. Place the cake pan inside a larger baking tray or deep roasting pan and pour in water until it reaches about two-thirds of the height of the cake pan. Transfer to an oven preheated to 150°C and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, checking periodically after 40 minutes to avoid over-browning. Bake until the center still has a slight jiggle; do not overbake.
5
Chill to set
Let the cake cool briefly in the pan, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before slicing and serving.
