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Beautiful Chocolate Cheesecake

Print Recipe
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Beautiful Crust

  • 24 oreo cookies
  • 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter

Filling

  • 10 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
  • 1 kg Cream cheese, room temp ( 4 packages 8 oz )
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder ( Dutch process )
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 4 eggs room temperature

Ganache

  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 5 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions
 

Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Pulse the cookies in a food processor.
  • Add the melted butter, and keep pulsing until fully incorporated.
  • Firmly press the mixture into a springform pan. Don't worry about going all the way up the side.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes - until the colour darkens a little.
  • Set aside and let completely cool while you make the filling.

Cheesecake Filling

  • Preheat the oven to 325F
  • Slowly melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or microwave) and set aside.
  • Medium speed, cream the cream cheese and sugar until complete;ly smooth, scrape down the sides regularly.
  • Keep mixing on low speed, add the cocoa and sour cream until fully incorporated.
  • Keep mixing, and slowly add the chocolate, and eggs - 1 at a time.
  • Despite all the mixing, don't overmix!
  • Quadruple wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in heavy foil. We need the foil to keep the water out of the springform pan.
  • Pour the filling into the springform pan.
  • Place the pan in a large roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with boiling water, about 3/4" DO NOT LET THE WATER GO OVER THE FOIL
  • Bake for 60 minutes, or until the cheesecake is set (middle barely jiggles).
  • Remove from oven, and very carefully run a knife around the cake, and let cool completely.

Ganache - Microwave method

  • Melt the chocolate and heavy whipping cream. Stir every 30 seconds.
  • Repeat until smooth.
  • Pour over the cooled cheesecake.

Ganache - old school method

  • Place the chopped chocolate in a temperature-safe bowl.
  • Slowly heat the heavy whipping cream to almost a simmer (175F).
  • Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit uncovered for 10 minutes.
  • Slowly stir everything together, and pour over the cooled cheesecake

Ganache - by Vlahos

  • The ingredients are different than the recipe card.
  • Bring 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream + 1/2 cup sugar to a simmer.
  • Add 1/3 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp megastrength coffee.
  • Whisk everything together, let simmer 3 minutes.

Notes

Oreo is Greek for "nice" or "attractive" but beautiful is a much better word for describing this crust.,
1 oz unsweetened chocolate + 1 tbsp sugar = semisweet
I wanted to bloom 2 sheets of gelatin in coffee and turn the ganache into something closer to chocolate glacage, but our birthday girl can't do coffee.
Once everything is finished, chill the cheesecake for at least 6 hours.
It can then be wrapped in plastic, then foil, and frozen for months, although I don't understand why you wouldn't be eating it!