Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Absolutely packed with chocolate flavor and the perfect balance of sweetness.
Texture: Rich, creamy, smooth, and fudgy with a hint of crunch from the crust.
Ease: No water bath required! There are a few steps involved, and you will dirty some dishes, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: It’s a chocoholic’s dream come true!
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Death by Chocolate Cheesecake is a true chocoholic’s dream come true!
Life without chocolate would be no life at all. As a total chocolate lover, I strongly believe that! I enjoy at least a bite of chocolate every single day.
There’s chocolate in four forms: chocolate graham cracker crust, double chocolate filling (both cocoa powder and melted chocolate), and a chocolate ganache topping.
If you’ve ever muttered, “This is too rich and chocolaty” in your life, this may not be the recipe for you.
Besides the delightful chocolate flavor, the texture in this recipe is simply incredible. You get that perfect contrast of a slightly crunchy yet buttery crust, rich and smooth filling, and fudgy ganache topping.
Reader Love
I made this for Thanksgiving dessert. It was utterly fantastic. The smoothest texture I’ve ever achieved in a cheesecake! Thanks!!
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This chocolate cheesecake is the perfect addition to any birthday, Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, or Christmas celebration!
Sprinkle of Science
Ingredient Notes
The Chocolate Cookie Crust
- This recipe calls for 15 “full size” chocolate graham crackers, meaning the entire rectangular sheet of graham cracker. This should weigh 225 grams or 8 ounces.
- Don’t reduce the melted butter otherwise your crust won’t hold its shape.
- If you’re using pre-ground crumbs, it should be 1 cup crumbs.
- If you are unable to find chocolate graham crackers, simply use chocolate Teddy Grahams instead (1:1 ratio).
- You could also make an Oreo cookie crust if you’d prefer! Simply swap in 30 (340 grams) standard whole Oreo cookies (NOT double-stuffed) and reduce the butter to 4 tablespoons (57 grams).
The Chocolate
I used semisweet baking chocolate blocks for the cheesecake, and semisweet chocolate chips for the ganache. You can use dark or bittersweet chocolate if you prefer – just note that this will alter the overall sweetness of the recipe. Learn more about Chocolate in Baking here.
The Cocoa Powder
Because this recipe doesn’t use any leavening agent, you can use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. I highly recommend sifting it first, so you don’t create lumps of cocoa in your cheesecake. Learn more about Natural Cocoa vs. Dutch Process Cocoa Powder here.
How to Make Creamy, Smooth ChocolateCheesecake
- Be sure to use high-quality full-fat bricks of cream cheese. It makes a big difference!
- Do not use cream cheese that’s meant for spreading on a bagel.
- The cream cheese should be completely softened to room temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t mix properly and you’ll end up with little pockets of unblended cream cheese throughout.
- Make sure your eggs are at room temperature too.
- Beat the cream cheese well before adding any other ingredients.
- Regularly scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, even if you’re using a paddle attachment that scrapes as it blends, to ensure everything is thoroughly mixed.
Baking Cheesecake Without a Water Bath
There is no water bath required for this chocolate cheesecake recipe! Even if some cracks form, they’ll be hidden by the thick chocolate ganache.
To prevent cracks without a water bath, I’m using the oven door trick. The key is to prevent any dramatic changes in temperature. Once the cheesecake is almost done baking, turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside. Crack the oven door just slightly to allow the oven to cool down slowly.
It’s better to err on the side of underbaking than over-baking. The edges should be set and dry, but if the center is still slightly wobbly or jiggly that’s fine. The residual heat will continue to cook the cheesecake even once it’s removed from the oven. To be certain, you can check the cheesecake internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer — it should be 150°F when it’s done baking.
Completely cool the cheesecake to room temperature before chilling to further prevent cracking.
The Best Pan for Cheesecake
- This recipe requires a 10-cup, 9-inch diameter springform pan like this one.
- Not all springform pans are made equally; you want one that’s heavy-duty and sturdy.
- Avoid putting your pan in the dishwasher — hand washing will extend the life of a springform pan.
- Just because your pan is 9-inches in diameter doesn’t necessarily mean it has a 10-cup batter volume capacity. Brands may vary slightly, so be careful not to overfill your pan if yours has a smaller capacity!
How to Slice and Serve Chocolate Cheesecake
The hardest part of this recipe is that you must let it chill for at least 4 hours before you slice and serve it! I usually like to let it chill overnight, just to make sure it’s completely set and I’m able to cut clean slices.
Use a sharp knife, run it under hot water, and carefully wipe dry in between cuts, for beautiful bakery-quality slices. I like to serve with strawberries or raspberries to cut the richness.
Storage Notes
Refrigerate this cheesecake loosely covered for 2 days. The longer it sits in the fridge, the softer the crust will become.
This cheesecake freezes beautifully! Place whole or individual slices on a baking sheet inside the freezer until firm. Wrap the cheesecake or each individual slice in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, defrost the whole cheesecake in the fridge overnight, or defrost individual slices in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 15 (225 grams) full size chocolate graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 24 ounces (680 grams) full fat cream cheese, softened completely to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (21 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
For the topping:
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. In the bowl of a food processor, process the cookies until you have 1 cup of finely ground crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool slightly and maintain oven temperature while making the filling.
For the filling:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chopped chocolate in 30-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until melted and smooth. Let cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, cream, and cocoa powder and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is being incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate until just combined. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Pour the batter into the cooled crust. Place the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the top looks slightly dry and the middle is slightly wobbly, or an instant-read thermometer inserted to the center reads 150°F. Err on the side of under-baking.
- Turn off the oven and crack the oven door open and allow to cool for 10 minutes (this helps prevent cracking). Remove the cheesecake from the oven to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Release the cheesecake from the pan onto a serving plate.
For the topping:
- Once the cheesecake has cooled, place the chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream just until simmering. Pour over the chocolate chips.
- Let sit for 3 minutes before stirring until the mixture is melted and smooth. If needed, allow to cool and thicken. Pour over the cheesecake.
Notes
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love:
This post was originally published in 2018 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Hi,
Is a water bath not necessary for this recipe? And if I wanted to substitute Oreo cookies for the crust, would you know how many I would need?
Thanks!
Hi Lisa! Check out the Tip Box (above the recipe) for the answers to both your questions 🙂 Happy baking!
Thanks!
Lastly, my store doesn’t have semisweet baking bars. Would 70% bittersweet work?
Hi Lisa! Sure, that will work – just note that your cheesecake and ganache will be less sweet using the 70% chocolate. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of this cheesecake once you have given it a try! 🙂
I cannot find chocolate gram crackers anywhere 😭
You can also use chocolate Teddy grahams if you can’t find the graham crackers!
Wow!
Do I cool for 4 hours before putting the ganache on top?
Yep! 🙂
Made this for Easter Dinner yesterday and people were going back for seconds! It was delicious and definitely lives up to its name.
Officially drooling over here! Your cheesecake looks amazing, thrilled to hear it was such a hit!
I tried this a couple of months ago for family gathering.it was a hit and its so easy. I’m making one now and I’m gonna use a chocolate mirror glaze. It should be beautiful
This cheesecake was so good it was a big hit with my family i will be making this many times thats for sure!!!!!!!
OMG- this is seriously SO GOOD. So deeply decadent and has such an amazingly strong chocolate flavor. I had to make it for a fancy Valentine’s event, and it was absolutely perfect. I only had an 8-inch springform pan, so I was pretty nervous, but I ended up just having to bake it for about 10 more minutes and it was totally fine. I let it refrigerate overnight and added the ganache in the morning. I did add a sprinkle of sea salt on top and swirled the ganache nicely just for the presentation:) The ganache stayed at a good level of fudginess, so cutting it wasn’t a problem. I was so relieved that it went well and it was a smashing success, because I was nervous about baking in a smaller size pan. Overall, this was a huge hit, and I will make it again and again!
Yay! So happy to hear this was such a hit for you, Adelaide!
Hi, I was wondering if it’s possible to make this recipe without the cocoa powder? Can i substitute with more chocolate instead or do i leave it out completely?
Hi Romy! This cheesecake was formulated to use cocoa, and cocoa and chocolate are not interchangeable as they will do different things chemically in baking. I would recommend instead trying one of Tessa’s other cheesecake recipes instead 🙂 Happy baking!
OMG! Made for my boss, and he was over the moon. He can’t stop talking about how good it was! Guess I am making this again soon!
Can you use any fruit or other toppings to decorate? Any suggestions?
Feel free to decorate with any fruit, chocolate curls, piped whipped cream, or anything else you like 🙂
hello! wondering if you have an adaptation to make this a peppermint chocolate cheesecake?! thanks!!
Hi Lily! Check out Tessa’s Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake recipe here!