Gooey, Sinful, Melt-In-Your-Mouth, Dark Chocolatey Chocolate Cheesecake !! | Baked Cheesecake

"Chocolate Doesn't Ask Silly Questions.... Chocolate Understands !!!"

Gooey, Sinful, Melt-in-your-mouth, Dark Chocolatey Chocolate Cheesecake !! I cannot think of just one adjective to describe this cake. Perfect for a day when you feel all indulgent and chocolatey. I made this recently for a very special kid - one of my favourite nephews :-) 
My cousin's older one, who is a foodie at heart, a great kid , hard working, intelligent and good at school. Loves to help his mum in the kitchen... I won't be surprised he turns out a chef one day :-) 

While I've done many cheesecakes before and many different types of chocolate cakes as well, never ever had I done a Chocolate Cheesecake. Hmmm the best of both the worlds :-))
Yes it's all indulgent but surely gives me pangs of guilt as well..... you'll know why :-)
So hence it's a special cake strictly for special occasions only.

The Chocolatey Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the Crust:

250g Chocolate Biscuits
100 g Digestive Biscuits
2 tbsps Cocoa Powder
100g Butter at room temperature or melted

For The Filling / Cheesecake

280g Semisweet / Dark Chocolate
230g Cream Cheese

1 ¼  cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

400ml of Cream 

50 ml of strong coffee ( I used nescafe)

4 large eggs

For the Ganache Topping

200ml Cream

150 g Semi Sweet Chocolate

A dollop of butter

Direction:

1. Line a 10 inch spring foam or lose bottom cake mould.

2. Crush the chocolate and digestive biscuits. Mix in butter and cocoa powder. It's best to whiz it up in a food processor but don't make it too fine. The consistency should be that of bread crumbs.

3. Spread this mixture evenly in the mould and press it down first with your fingers and then with the back of a plain glass to smoothen it.you can also tilt the mould at a 90 degree angle and press the biscuit mixture onto the sides to create a wall of the same crust. This is very helpful if you are using a large mould . It holds and supports the cheesecake well.

This may read a bit tricky but its not quite. Once you start doing it, you'll get the hang of it. The butter helps to hold it in place.

While here you can see only small single serves, I had also made a large cheesecake and had created the sides with the crust. When making small quantities or single serves this is not important.  

4. Preheat the oven at 150 degree C. Bake the crust for 5 minutes and let it cool down completely.

5. Return the oven to the preheat mode at 150 degree C, while you work in the filling.

6. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (like me if you do not have a double boiler, take a saucepan with water and put it on the flame, once the water comes to a boil, put the chocolate in a heat proof glass bowl and place it on the saucepan. Make sure the saucepan doesn't touch the water and melt you chocolate.) Using a balloon whist or a spatula mix it till smooth. Let it cool for 2 minutes.

7. While the chocolate is melting ( keep an eye on it), whisk the cream cheese. Once smooth add sugar. Whisk again till well incorporated. Now add the cream and again whist well. I used the electric hand blender for this. You could whisk in a food processor or use a balloon whisk. 

8. Now add the coffee to the cream cheese mixture and whisk in the melted chocolate to it.

9.  Lastly add the eggs, one at a time and give it another good whisk.

10. Pour it over the crust and put it in the oven to bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes at 150 degree C.

11. Insert and knife in the centre, it its a little moist don't worry , it's good. Ideally it should not be completely hard. Let it rest in the oven for 10 minutes. Let it cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator overnight.

12. For the Topping: Prepare the Ganache:

Cut the chocolate into small pieces.

Heat the cream in a pan. When bubbles start appearing around the sides of the pan, add the chocolate and mix well, till well incorporated. Keep stirring so that the ganache becomes smooth. Add the butter, again mix well.

Let it cool down a bit. The consistency should be pourable.

Once cooled pour over the cheesecake.

Let it chill in the refrigerator for one our till the topping sets or till serving time.

Happy Baking !! :-) Happy eating !! :-))

Unlike most cheesecakes, this will be dense. It is perfectly normal. The cream and the chocolate make the cake dense and give it it's gooey texture.
If the top of the cheesecake is not perfectly smooth, it doesn't matter. The rather uneven top gives it a lovely rustic look.

Serving Suggestions:

1. Dust with powdered sugar.
2. Dust with cocoa powder.
3. Serve with a compote. I plated the cheesecake with my Roasted Strawberry Compote.  The acidity of the compote cuts through the sweetness of the cheesecake striking the right balance.