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Home » Blog » Cooking » Comfort food » Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

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Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

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How to make the best homemade chocolate orange cheesecake from scratch - This DIY recipe is simple and easy but does take a bit of time. Top with chocolate ganache to hide any cracks and add a layer of richness and decadence. Original recipe uses graham cracker crumbs for the crust. You can leave out the orange extract for a real, classic New York style cake.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Inspired by Terry's, this orange cheesecake is topped with a thick layer of rich chocolate ganache. Chocolate Orange Cheesecake is so rich and decadent! This chocolate orange cheesecake is my favorite and is great for holiday meals.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Total Time 2 hrs 5 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup macadamia nuts coarsely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons butter melted
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

  • 3 blocks cream cheese full fat version, 24 oz in total
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons orange extract
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • orange food color optional, as much as necessary to get the color you desire

Chocolate ganache topping

  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions
 

For the crust

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
  • Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set crust aside.

For the filling

  • Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, extracts, and food color and blend until smooth and creamy.
  • Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface.
  • If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
  • Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter.

For the chocolate ganache topping

  • While the cake is cooling on the counter, prepare the chocolate ganache. In order to do this, heat chocolate chips, butter (cut into small cubes), and heavy cream in a pan in the microwave in 30 second increments. Continue to heat for 30 seconds, then stir well, then heat for 30 seconds and stir well. Do that three or four times, until the chocolate is very smooth and creamy. The chocolate may become too runny to spread on your cheesecake, so you may have to let it sit on the counter for a while, until it cools and thickens enough to spread.
  • Once the cheesecake and the chocolate ganache are sufficiently cool, pour the ganache over the top of the cheesecake, still in the springform pan. Put the whole thing in the fridge to chill over night. Once fully chilled, loosen the edges of the pan, and the cheesecake is ready to serve. 

Notes

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!
 
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© 2009 – 2018, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.

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Comments

  6. Kara says

    That first picture cracked me up! I love chocolate and orange together too, so this sounds wonderful!!

    Kara’s last blog post..Monster Cookies

    Reply

  10. Kara says

    That first picture cracked me up! I love chocolate and orange together too, so this sounds wonderful!!

    Kara’s last blog post..Monster Cookies

    Reply

    • Tara says

      Stacey – That’s my problem exactly. I had no idea. I wanted it to be mixed well!

      [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

      Reply

    • Tara says

      Stacey – That’s my problem exactly. I had no idea. I wanted it to be mixed well!

      [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘0 which is not a hashcash value.

      Reply

  16. Brenda says

    WOW! I gotta make this, I love macadamia nuts, I think I would love this!

    Brenda’s last blog post..Hard Boiled Eggs for TMTT

    Reply

  20. Emily @ marvelous recipes says

    My family would get down and beg for this. They love cheesecake and this one is great!

    Emily @ marvelous recipes’s last blog post..Deviled Eggs

    Reply

  23. Brenda says

    WOW! I gotta make this, I love macadamia nuts, I think I would love this!

    Brenda’s last blog post..Hard Boiled Eggs for TMTT

    Reply

  28. Emily @ marvelous recipes says

    My family would get down and beg for this. They love cheesecake and this one is great!

    Emily @ marvelous recipes’s last blog post..Deviled Eggs

    Reply

  29. Chantal says

    Topping makes everything better, lol, especially cracks don’t you think. Great job!

    Chantal’s last blog post..Daring in April: Cheesecake

    Reply

  30. Chantal says

    Topping makes everything better, lol, especially cracks don’t you think. Great job!

    Chantal’s last blog post..Daring in April: Cheesecake

    Reply

  33. Joy @ Joy Of Desserts says

    I’m here via Tasty Thursday.
    If it tasted good, you did not fail! Besides, from what I can see of the last picture, it looks like you were able to mask that sad little face. Loved your sense of humor too.

    My Tasty Thursday is up too.

    Reply

  34. Joy @ Joy Of Desserts says

    I’m here via Tasty Thursday.
    If it tasted good, you did not fail! Besides, from what I can see of the last picture, it looks like you were able to mask that sad little face. Loved your sense of humor too.

    My Tasty Thursday is up too.

    Reply

  35. JennyBakes says

    I think a delicious cheesecake can’t possibly qualify for cheesecake fail. It looks good to me! Thanks for being a part of the April Daring Bakers Challenge!

    Jenny of JennyBakes

    JennyBakes’s last blog post..Roasted Strawberry Season

    Reply

  36. JennyBakes says

    I think a delicious cheesecake can’t possibly qualify for cheesecake fail. It looks good to me! Thanks for being a part of the April Daring Bakers Challenge!

    Jenny of JennyBakes

    JennyBakes’s last blog post..Roasted Strawberry Season

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] used a chocolate ganache similar to the one in this recipe to cover the orange frosting. Top it with Halloween Oreos, and you have a gorgeous holiday-themed […]

    Reply

  2. […] part of my list, but most kinds of cheesecake require a springform pan. Some of my favorites are orange chocolate cheesecake, candy cane cheesecake, and cherry cordial brownie […]

    Reply

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