Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake

An indulgent twist on a classic cheesecake - the smooth, creamy, tangy filling is studded with chunks of rich chocolate, baked in a crisp chocolate cookie crust and topped with a silky chocolate ganache.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword baked, cheesecake, chocolate, cookie crust, ganache, heirloom recipe, indulgent

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1 25

Chilling Time 8

Total Time 9 50

Servings

Calories 635kcal

Equipment

medium bowl
large bowl
electric mixer
9" spring-form pan (or cheesecake pan)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.silicone cheesecake wrap (optional)
small saucepan

Ingredients

Crust:

18 Oreo cookies crushed
¼ cup butter melted

Filling:

32 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
¾ cup sour cream
4 eggs
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Topping:

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks
¾ cup whipping cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine cookies and butter until the mixture starts to clump together. Press the mixture firmly into bottom of a 9" spring-form pan.
18 Oreo cookies, 1/4 cup butter
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the filling:

Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy without any lumps of cream cheese.
32 oz cream cheese, 1 cup sugar
Add the sour cream and mix well.
3/4 cup sour cream
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each, just until blended.
4 eggs
Stir the chocolate chunks into batter. Pour the batter over cooled crust. (Optional: put the pan in a silicone cheesecake wrap and place it into a water bath for baking)
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center is almost set. Turn off the oven, leaving the cheesecake inside for another hour to cool slowly (this help prevent sinking and cracking as the cake cools)
Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the side of pan to loosen the cake from the sides. Cool completely and remove the side of pan.

For the topping:

Bring the cream to simmer in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from heat and add the chocolate chunks. Let the mixture sit for a minute or two, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Cool slightly before pouring over the cheesecake and spreading out to the edges. Refrigerate the cake overnight before serving.
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks, 3/4 cup whipping cream

Notes

Mom generally did not pre-bake the cheesecake crusts, but I almost always do - I like the crisper texture in contrast to the creamy filling. You can feel free to skip pre-baking the crust if you like.
The original recipe says the cake should bake at 350°F - I'm not certain whether mom used this temperature or not, but I find that it is too hot, the top of the cake gets too dark before the filling is cooked sufficiently to set properly when chilled. Reducing the temperature to 300°F solves this issue.
I know that mom did not typically use water baths for her cheesecakes, but I prefer to use a water bath as it helps regulate the temperature resulting in a more even bake, and a smoother, more level surface. You can use either method for this recipe. Baking time may be a bit longer in a water bath, just keep checking for the set edges and slight wobble in the middle that indicates the cake is done.
Mom liked a tall cheesecake - the original recipe called for only 24 oz of cream cheese, this makes for a fairly low cheesecake in a 9" pan, so I adjusted the recipe to use 32 oz of cream cheese. If you'd like to use the original recipe proportions, it is 3/4 of the recipe as I've presented it here - in the 9" pan you'll get a low cheesecake, or you can opt for a 7" pan for a smaller version of the tall cheesecake.
Mom always liked a good thick layer of ganache, so I adjusted the topping to 1 1/2 times the original recipe.

Nutrition