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This Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is pure decadence! It’s not too sweet and but very rich, so a small slice goes far! The fresh raspberry pockets swirled throughout are delightfully refreshing!
Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake
Today’s new recipe was inspired by two of my FAVORITE desserts: chocolate raspberry cake and chocolate cheesecake! Have you tried either of them yet? They’re both total rockstar recipes that deserve a spot in your baking rotation!
So, why combine them?
Well… because when combined, they create the most sinfully decadent yet fruity and refreshing chocolate cheesecake you’ll ever experience! Even my husband, who samples a good amount of my baking creations, was absolutely floored by this one! It’s definitely unlike any chocolate cheesecake you’ve ever had before. In the best way possible!!!
What You’ll Need to Get Baking:
I’ll be the first to admit the ingredient list for this recipe is pretty long! But don’t let that scare you off!
Because most of the ingredients are household staples! And the rest are pretty cheap and easy to find! Plus, this is a special occasion dessert recipe. So it can be fun to gather all of your ingredients and spend the afternoon in the kitchen baking!
For the chocolate cookie crust, you’ll need a standard package of Oreo cookies and some melted butter!
You’ll want to pulse the Oreo cookies (white cream filling and all) until they’re fine crumbs! Then simply combine with the melted butter and viola! You’ve made an Oreo Cookie Crust!
You could make a graham cracker crust if you want. But personally I don’t think it works well with this flavor profile.
The chocolate raspberry filling is made with chocolate, cream cheese, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, eggs, heavy cream, vanilla, and raspberries.
And for the chocolate ganache you’ll need chocolate, heavy cream, and butter! I suggest using HIGH-QUALITY chocolate in this recipe, and not chocolate chips.
Can I use Frozen Raspberries?
I strongly suggest using fresh raspberries!
I tested this recipe with frozen and it didn’t work very well. It made the cheesecake filling kind of mushy and the raspberries flavor was very mild. In a pinch, I think swirling a high-quality raspberry jam in the middle might work. But for the very best results, use fresh raspberries!
How to Make Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake:
Although time consuming, making this recipe is actually quite straightforward and easy! And it should come together in less than 30 minutes! But just an FYI: you will need a food processor or electric hand mixer for this process!
- Combine Oreo cookie crumbs and butter. Press into spring form mold and bake for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, use a double boiler or microwave to prepare your melted chocolate. You’ll want to do this first so it has time to cool down bit.
- Next, you’ll beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy! Then add in sugars, cocoa, espresso powder, vanilla.
- Next add in the eggs one at a time. Finally, you’ll fold in the cream and slowly pour in the melted chocolate mixture. The batter will be THICK!!!
- Pour half of the filling on top of the baked crust. Then evenly scatter 1 cup of raspberries in an even layer. Add remaining batter and smooth the top.
- Bake in a waterbacth for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. And the final step in most definitely the hardest… place in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours!
How to Decorate Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake:
As you can see from my dark and moody photos, I went ALL out decorating this cheesecake! I used chocolate ganache, chocolate syrup, and cocoa powder dusted raspberries!
Feel free to use all of the my decorating ideas, or none! This is honestly delicious as-is, or with a simple dollop of whipped cream on top!
If you are going to make your own chocolate ganache, it’s super easy! You’ll simply place your chopped chocolate in a medium bowl (ideally a microwave safe bowl since it’ll be taking some heat). Then pour boiling cream on top, and stir until silky smooth. Toss in 1/4 cup of cubed butter, whisk again, and you’re good to go!
More Chocolate Raspberry Recipes:
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies
- 5-Ingredient Raspberry Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
- Raspberry Truffle Brownies
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
And if you try this recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, please let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- (1) full-size package Oreo cookies, crushed into fine crumbs (36 sandwich cookies in total)
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake:
- 2 cups (340g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (680g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (71 grams) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (170g) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120 grams) fresh raspberries
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 1 and 1/3 cups (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 and 1/4 cups (283 grams) heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
For Garnish (optional):
- 1 cup (120 grams) fresh raspberries
- 1 cup chocolate sauce (use your favorite store-bought variety)
- 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan in layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. You’ll be placing this pan in a water bath, so be sure the pan has been wrapped from every angle.
- In a large bowl combine the crushed cookie crumbs and melted butter, mix well to combine.
- Press the mixture into the bottom - and slightly up the sides - of the prepared pan.
- Bake the crust in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack until needed. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees (F).
For the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake:
- Fill a medium pot one-third full with water and bring it to a low simmer over medium heat. Place a heatproof bowl that will fit on top of the pan snugly, but will not touch the simmering water, on top of the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped chocolate and espresso powder into the bowl over the pot. Heat until the chocolate is completely melted, stirring occasionally with a silicon spatula. Remove the pot from the heat, leaving the bowl of chocolate over the hot water. Set aside until needed.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. Add in both sugars and cocoa powder and beat smooth. Add in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating until just combined.
- Slowly add in the heavy cream and vanilla mix until just combined, about 20 seconds.
- Finally, fold in the melted chocolate. The batter will get very thick at this point!
- Remove the bowl from the food processor and, using a rubber spatula, stir the filling several times, to ensure the batter is evenly blended.
- Pour half of filling over the partially baked crust. Add raspberries in a single layer. Then pour remaining batter on top, making sure all raspberries are covered by the batter.
- Place the springform pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan. Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven and pour enough hot water into the pan to come 1-inch up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set but still slightly jiggly. The cake will set completely as it cools.
- Remove the cake from the water bath and place the pan on a wire rack. Carefully loosen the foil, then immediately run the tip of a knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking.
- Cool completely (in the pan), then transfer cheesecake to the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours before removing from the pan and slicing.
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- Add chopped chocolate to a medium bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-heat, bring the cream to a rolling boil then immediately remove from heat. Pour the cream on top of the chocolate pieces and set aside for 1 minute. With a whisk, begin to incorporate the melted chocolate into the cream, whisking until smooth and glossy.
- Add in the butter and use a spatula to stir until the butter is completely melted. The mixture will be dark and glossy. Set aside, at room temperature, until needed.
- Pour ganache over cooled cheesecake. Set aside until ganache is set, about 1 hour.
To Garnish & Serve:
- To serve, slice the cheesecake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.
- Top each slice of cheesecake with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, a few raspberries, and a light dusting of cocoa powder. If you're presenting the cheesecake whole, you can drizzle the chocolate sauce over the entire cheesecake, then top with raspberries, and cocoa.
- Store, loosely covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you don't have a food processor, a high-powdered blender will work, or use an electric stand mixer or hand mixer.
- I recommend using chocolate between 55% and 70% cocoa.
- Don't skip the chilling phase! If you slice into this cheesecake without chilling it, it will be more like a lava cake.
- This cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 5 days, but keeps best without any topping on it (other than the ganache).
This recipe makes an outstanding chocolate cheesecake. After making it yesterday, there are a few things I would like to point out to others.
1. I changed up the crust. 36 whole Oreos seemed excessive after reading other chocolate crumb crust recipes. I used 22 Oreos, with the middles scraped out, because I don’t like Oreo middles. I added a stick of butter (8 Tablespoons) which was too much, because butter oozed out between the springform pan and the foil when baking. If I made this again, I would try 22 Oreos and 6 Tablespoons of butter. The crust I made was thick enough without being overwhelming.
2. I have a 9-cup food processor. There is no way in the world this recipe would have fit in my food processor. Realizing this, I mixed it up in my KitchenAid stand mixer. The batter barely fit into my 9” springform pan.
3. I know my oven tends to run low, but I had to bake this an extra 30 minutes before it stopped jiggling enough to make me think it was done. I cooled it and refrigerated it overnight, as directed, and it was perfect when I cut it the next day.
4. The ganache sounds lovely but I didn’t make it. The cheesecake is spectacular without it.I just piled each slice with fresh raspberries and it was amazing.
I made this recipe as a birthday cake for a family member. Flavors were great, only issue I had was that I had rinsed the raspberries prior to use and the consistency became watery. Would definitely recommend thoroughly drying berries prior or not rinsing at all.
I would love to make these in cupcake size. How many would this recipe make and how long would I bake them? Thank you
If I change the Oreos to the gluten free Oreos does it change the crust too much? The only ingredients I see that has gluten or wheat are the Oreos.
Help! I don’t understand what I did wrong. My mix did not turn out thick and it’s still soupy looking after baking for an 1 and 10 min. I’m still baking it and hoping it will still turn out OK. This recipe looked so good.
I’ve made some minor adjustments to my recipe for Dark Chocolate cheesecakes. I personally prefer not to have the crust up the sides for easier slicing, so I only use about 15-16 Oreos, and reduce the butter to 4 tbsp. Also, I have found that baking an Oreo crust twice makes if very hard to cut when eating the cheesecake. After patting it down in the Springform pan with a small cup or glass, I place it in the freezer for at least 20 minutes and it’s only baked once.
I typically use one package Ghirardelli (10 ounces) 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking chips instead of chopping the chocolate. They still provide the deep chocolate flavor, and I only use 1 tsp of espresso powder. With anymore, there may be a presence of a coffee flavor which I don’t prefer. These suggestions are not intended that the recipe would be improved as presented, only that these work for me.
I am very excited to try to make this – have you made it with other berries such as blueberries?
I haven’t! Personally, I don’t enjoy the combination of chocolate and blueberries, but if you do, you can certainly try experimenting.
This was so decadent and I appreciated your thorough instructions. That’s the first time I’ve ever made a Chocolate Ganache, and pouring it over the cheesecake was so satisfying and it left it so beautifully glossy!
My only disappointment was that it didn’t set up very efficiently, it had a soft and almost creamy texture toward the middle. Coming back to see your photos I see that’s how it turned out for you too – but I wonder if something could be done to give it more structure? It ate almost like a thick mousse.
Overall a WINNER. Absolutely lovely flavor!
is it a big deal if i didnt cover it in foil? its not stated that it needs to be covered in foil until step 10 where you state to remove foil. but never said to put foil on before baking. hoping i didnt just wreck it by not using foil! ahah. smells amazing and i bet it will taste amazing too!! 🙂
I made this cheesecake, but it doesn’t mention if I need to cover it when I chill it for 6 hours?