If you’re in need of a quick chocolate fix, try this! It differs from a regular brownie in that it is microwaved, and it has a very wet, pudding-like feel. Enjoy with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 6 hrs |
| Total Time: | 8 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 1 to 10 – inch cheesecake |
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly coat a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the cocoa powder and 1 cup sugar. Toss with melted butter. Press into the bottom and 1 to 2-inches up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
- Bring 2 cups sugar and the water to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook without stirring until the mixture has turned a deep, golden color, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat, and carefully pour in the heavy cream (the mixture will bubble vigorously). Return the caramel to the stove over low heat, and stir until completely liquefied. Stir in the chocolate until melted, then stir in the sour cream. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese until fluffy in an electric mixer. Add caramel mixture, and blend well, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla with the last egg. Mix until well incorporated, then pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Place pan into a hot water bath with the water coming half way up the sides of the springform pan. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the center has set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the middle 3 or 4 inches are still a little wobbly. Chill completely before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 634 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 60 g |
| Cholesterol | 152 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 25 g |
| Sodium | 279 mg |
| Sugars | 47 g |
| Fat | 42 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Awesome and rich–even changing the sour cream and cream cheese to lower fat versions (not fat free) I find it takes me a bit longer to caramalize the sugar, but probably because my temp may be just a touch lower to keep from scorching it. RAVES every time I make it. Looking forward to making it again soon now that I have a cheesecake moat to try out!
I baked the crust first like many others and lost patience with the caramel (wasn’t turning golden after an hour ), incorporating it with the chocolate and cream cheese mixture. Baked an additional 10 minutes from stated time and let cool for 3 hours before refrigerating. Had extra filling and mixed that with almond extract and whipped cream for topping. Creamy texture and slight caramel flavor, very rich. My husband, who isn’t a desert person, says he would eat this. I would make this again, maybe add some chocolate chips.
I made this for my Mom on Mother’s Day and I picked a good recipe for the occasion. It’s nice and creamy and rich. Served with caramel and homemade whipped cream makes this very sinful and completely worth it. I did have issues making the caramel and I threw the first batch away. I thought it was boiling a little too hard, so I reduced the heat to low for a slower boil. What happened was the water evaporated and the sugar crystallized. On the second try, I kept it at a higher heat as the instructions say, and it came out perfect. The other issue I had was the baking time. My oven temperature is dead on, and I followed the baking time, but I had to add 15 minutes to the time to get it to set up like it was supposed to. I have a feeling that the increased bake time was because I used the tinfoil around my pan, just in case it leaked. I think this may have added an extra layer of insulation. I wouldn’t do that again, I would just make sure my pan didn’t leak. I had prebaked my crust, but I think this wasn’t necessary and I wouldn’t do that again. Overall a great recipe and I’m sure I will be making it again. It isn’t that hard of a recipe if you don’t over-think it like I did.
In my book, this cheesecake gets a 5 for taste but also a 5 for difficulty. The cheesecake is awesome — especially when topped with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle. Carmelizing the sugar though has been a real challenge. It seems to dry out and become flaky sugar before browning. After trying several times, I finally cooked it in a non-stick pan with a lid on it (to retain the moisture) for about 30 minutes. Then I poured it into a large stainless steel skillet and within a few minutes it was browned. I also had a problem with my pan leaking — even though I wrapped it in foil. I discovered I needed the extra large foil so that it can be totally wrapped with one sheet rather than two. But, I dumped the cheesecake upside down, set it in the fridge uncovered for a day or so and the crust dried out nicely.
I am going to be making this for the third time later this week for two birthdays at work (they both requested this recipe). Hopefully this time I will do it correctly, the first two times I screwed up and didn’t have the right chocolate (the first time I had picked up unsweetened instead of bittersweet) the second time was a combination of unsweetened and bittersweet. This time I plan on making it as called for with all bittersweet so I know what it is truly supposed to taste like. It has been very good so far (with the unintentional changes) so I am sure it will only get better. I would not say it has a distinct caramel flavor, I was expecting more, but drizzling caramel over the top after you slice it has worked out well.
Great recipe! I have made the crust with chocolate graham cracker crumbs and the cocoa, or just plain. I do prebake it for 8-10′ at 350…Can bake the cheessecake at a lower temp also, just watch for it to be done. my pans do not leak, so the foil has been unnecessary. Cover with a chocolate ganache or fudge topping of your choice…and decorate.
If you follow this recipe to the ‘T’, it will come out perfect. It is my most requested dessert, as I have been making this recipe for over a year. It is a little on the “overly sweet” side, so I have reduced the sugar amount by half a cup each, too.
This was my first cheesecake, and it came out very well! The flavor was balanced and the cake creamy and smooth. A friend, who is a true gourmet chef, paid me the high compliment of hoarding the leftovers of my cake!
This was by far the best cheesecake. I used oreos for crust instead and it was great.
First time cheesecake baker! 🙂 Found it really simple to follow and the best part everyone LOVED it.
My daughter wanted this (Cheese) Cake for her birthday (she gets to pick any cake…its her birthday). Our family loved it. I thought the crust was a little thick and did not use all the mixture, but besides that it was fantastic.
Very good; very very rich! I baked the crust for ten minutes and allowed it to cool before putting in the batter. Also, I didn’t let the hot liquid chocolate/caramel cool at all before adding to the cream cheese and it worked fine. I used fat free sour cream and low fat cream cheese with no adverse results. Everyone looooved it.
Inexperienced cooks: Be sure to wrap the springform pan with foil before placing it in the water bath to avoid “bathing” the cheesecake.
Absolutely delicious! I topped it with whip cream and drizzled caramel. It was the hit of my dinner party.