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Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

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 Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
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.
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Chocolate ganache topping
Course Dessert
Servings
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Chocolate ganache topping
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.
Instructions
For the crust
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
  2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set crust aside.
For the filling
  1. 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, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
  2. Here's a side note. I learned (after the fact) that over beating the cheese mixture during step three will lead to an excess of air in the batter, which leads to excessive puffiness during baking and the dreaded chasm across the top when the puffiness falls during cooling. Mix it just enough to incorporate all of the ingredients, and then stop. I mixed my filling until it was well blended, then I decided to add food coloring to make it more orange. That took much more mixing in the mixer. No wonder the Grand Canyon opened up as it cooled.
  3. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface.
  4. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water. *I put the water on the rack below the cheesecake, and I think it was a mistake. The cheesecake would have turned out nicer if I'd put it directly into the water bath.
  5. 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
  1. While the cake was cooling on the counter, I prepared the chocolate ganache. In order to do this, I heated chocolate chips, butter (cut into small cubes), and heavy cream in a pan in the microwave in 30 second increments. I heated it for 30 seconds, then stirred well, then heated for 30 seconds and stirred well. I did that three or four times, until the chocolate was very smooth and creamy. Unfortunately, the chocolate was much too runny to spread on my cheesecake, so I let it sit on the counter for a while, until it cooled and thickened enough to spread.
  2. Once the cheesecake and the chocolate ganache were sufficiently cool, I covered the whole thing with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to chill over night.
  3. Once fully chilled, the cheesecake is ready to serve. *The plastic wrap stuck to my chocolate, making it lose its shine. Oh, well. It all tasted the same!
Recipe 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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40 thoughts on “Chocolate Orange Cheesecake”

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

    Kara’s last blog post..Monster Cookies

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

    Kara’s last blog post..Monster Cookies

    • 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.

    • 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.

  16. 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

  23. 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

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

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

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

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

  33. 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.

  34. 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.

  37. Pingback: Orange Dreamsicle Cake with a Halloween Twist | Feels Like Home
  38. Pingback: 10 Things to Make in a Springform Pan | Feels Like Home

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