Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

This new York style chocolate cheesecake recipe is rich and thick with a silky smooth texture.  All the professional tips for a cheesecake that won’t crack, sets firm and sliceable, and has that quintessential texture.

When I first started developing this chocolate cheesecake recipe, I used the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory as a guide. To me, that is the perfect chocolate cheesecake for real chocolate lovers. Rich, thick, and melts in your mouth! This recipe brings all that decadent chocolate richness with a classic New York style cheesecake texture just like my chocolate chip cheesecake.

If you know me, then you know that I am serious about my chocolate dessert recipes whether it is a chocolate pudding, chocolate bundt cake with ganache topping, double chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate pound cake. They all bring the rich, balanced chocolate flavor. You could top this cheesecake with a chocolate ganache like the one from my chocolate tarts, but I don’t find it necessary.

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Professional Tips for Making Chocolate Cheesecake

• Room temperature ingredients. This is essential to a smooth, dense but light cheesecake. The ingredients incorporate better and the cream cheese becomes silky smooth when beaten with the sugar. Cold cream cheese doesn’t behave the same way. Also if you add melted chocolate to cold batter, it will seize.
• Beat in each egg individually for a minute. It sounds excessive, but it really makes a rich cheesecake that is both light enough to melt in your mouth but also somehow dense.
• Bake in a water bath and let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Believe it or not, cheesecake is pretty forgiving for a custard. Much more so than, say, vanilla crème brûlée! These are the two absolutes to avoid the cheesecake cracking. I’ll give you a lot more tips below in the “How to Make” section.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cream Cheese: Full-fat brick-style cream cheese is a must for the best cheesecake. You can use low fat but not whipped. The texture will be a little looser and lighter with low fat. I use Philadelphia cream cheese because I prefer the flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: The vanilla extract enhances the chocolate flavor, so choose a bran you enjoy. I like Nielson Massey’s Madagascar vanilla extract.
• Granulated Sugar
• Large Eggs & Egg Yolk: Cheesecake is a custard and the eggs are essential for thickening and setting the custard just like in my easy chocolate pie or bread pudding.
• Sour Cream: Just like with the cream cheese, full fat sour cream will produce the best cheesecake. The fat helps the batter not break especially while baking.
• Heavy Cream: Heavy cream adds a little moisture along with fat to add to the texture and lightens the flavor a touch.
• Bittersweet Chocolate: I used 60% bittersweet chocolate to balance the sweetness in the cheesecake. I did a milk chocolate version in these mini s’mores cheesecakes or you can use semi-sweet chocolate, but consider reducing the sugar. The chocolate should be melted but not hot. You don’t want to melt or separate the cheesecake mixture.
• Oreo cookies: You can use your favorite chocolate sandwich cookies here but be sure not to choose double stuf Oreos. It takes 22 Oreos (minus however many you eat) or just buy Oreo cookie crumbs because it’s 2024 and we take these little shortcuts with a thankful heart.
• Unsalted Butter
• Kosher Salt

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Variations

• Make it a death by chocolate cheesecake. Add chocolate chips to the batter before pouring into pan, spread a rich chocolate ganache on top before slicing, and top it with a chocolate whipped cream. Simply whisk together cocoa powder, heavy whipping cream and a little powdered sugar to taste. Whip to soft or stiff peaks.
• Change the crust flavor. Try using a different cookie or Oreo flavor (I love blond Oreos). You can also make a classic baked graham cracker crust or use chocolate graham crackers. You can even make your own chocolate graham crackers!
• Add a swirl. Get creative with the swirl as long as it is thick enough on its own. A thick cherry preserves, mixed berry jam with pectin, or salted caramel sauce are all good options.
• Bake cheesecake bars or miniature cheesecakes. You can pour this batter over a crust baked into a 9×13 inch pan then bake it until it is set (jiggles like Jell-o in the center). You don’t even have to bake it in a water bath because it bakes for far less time.

How to Serve Chocolate Cheesecake

• Add a topping.  You can top the whole cheesecake with a chocolate ganache, piled high with toasted marshmallow frosting or cherry pie filling, or you can top each slice of cheesecake individually. I love to add a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraîche along with some fresh fruit.  
• Serve each slice with a sauce. Every slice of cake, even vanilla cake, deserves a little garnish. I love serving cheesecake with hot fudge, my easy strawberry jam, salted caramel sauce or this easy blueberry sauce. For that vanilla ice cream flavor in sauce form, try vanilla crème anglaise!
• Top it with a little crunch. This chocolate cheesecake is so creamy and rich that a little salt and crunch from toasted nuts like pecans would be welcome, or try cocoa nibs for a little balanced, unsweetened chocolate flavor. You can top it with baked streusel topping or additional Oreo cookies.

How to Make The Best Chocolate Cheesecake

Use these instructions to make this easy chocolate cheesecake recipe from scratch from scratch! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the crust & pan

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional (no fan). Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper or foil.

Step 2: Line the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil. The goal is to ensure no water gets in while the cake is baking. Extra-large sheets of foil work best, but you can overlap 2 pieces of foil and roll them to create a seal. Be sure to roll any excess foil outward or you will just direct the water into your crust.

Step 3: Pulse Oreos in a food processor until fine. Combine cookie crumbs, melted butter and salt in a bowl.  Mix very well with your hand, squeezing to create clumps.

Step 4: Press crust into springform pan compacting it down with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake 350°F 10 minutes or until the center looks matte. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Prepare the cheesecake

Step 1: Reduce the heat of the oven to 325°F. Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool. You want it to be cool but still melted.

Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a very large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and vanilla extract until silky, creamy and smooth.
Step 3: Add the sugar to the cream cheese and beat until no granules are visible. This will take at least 3 full minutes. It will look satiny and silky smooth.

Step 4: Add the eggs one at a time to the cream cheese mixture and beat 1 minute after each addition. Set a timer. It matters.

Step 5: Add the sour cream and heavy cream and beat to combine. Start the mixer on low then increase the speed.

Step 6: Add all the melted chocolate at once and beat to combine.

Step 7: Pour cheesecake batter into prepared crust and place it into a larger baking dish. I find a large roasting pan works best for the water bath.

Step 8: Place the large pan with the springform nested inside in the oven, then pour hot (not boiling) water into the roasting pan half way up the sides of the cake pan.

Step 9: Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until set but still wobbly. The cake will puff slightly and will jiggle like Jello but not look loose in the center. You know how Jello moves in one cohesive unit? It should look like that.

Step 10: Carefully remove the springform pan from the water bath and place on a wire rack to cool completely at room temperature before wrapping and moving to the fridge. Remove the water bath carefully from the oven and pour out.

Step 11: Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan for at least 2 hours to overnight. Overnight is best because the texture will completely set. 2 hours in a non-commercial refrigerator really isn’t long enough.

Step 12: Serve with fresh berries and maybe some crème fraiche whipped cream. That tang with the sweet chocolate cheesecake, delightful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef created cheesecake recipe. Don’t miss more perfect custard recipes or try my favorite one bowl brownies or bakery style chocolate chip cookies.