FRASER ELISABETH TAN, PHD

The Chocolate Cheesecake

This recipe has become my "signature" dessert, but it's so easy, it would be criminal not to share it!

VEG

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 package chocolate graham crackers
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 16 oz cream cheese (2 8 oz packages)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 16 oz sour cream
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Set the main rack at the middle level. On the rack below, place a pyrex dish (I use 8x8, but it doesn’t really matter) filled with water. This will humidify the oven.
  2. In food processor, blend chocolate graham crackers and sugar until they make a fine crumb. Add butter and pulse a few times to thoroughly moisten mixture. Pour crumbs into springform pan. Spread the mixture out to evenly cover the bottom of the pan, then press it down firmly with your hand to pack the crumb together. Bake for 15 minutes (or freeze). Let cool before adding the cake.
  3. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat into the cream cheese. (Throughout the mixing, always scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to get everything mixed together.) Add vanilla and mix. (If using a handheld mixer, switch to a wooden spoon here.) Add the eggs one at a time and mix just until incorporated. Add sour cream and cocoa, mix just until incorporated.
  4. Melt the chocolate with the water on high in the microwave for one minute. Remove and mix until fully melted.
  5. Mix about 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture into the chocolate to lighten it and cool it down. Then mix the chocolate back into the cream cheese base.
  6. Pour the batter into the pan with the crust. Bake for 30 minutes. (When “done”, the center and majority of the cake should still be liquidy, and the sides just set.) Next, turn off the oven, prop the door open with the handle of a wooden spoon, and let the cake cool in the oven for an hour. Then pull out the cake, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight to set. (It’s ok if it’s still liquidy.)