Chocolate Cheesecake
- Carbohydrate 86.9960664183811 g
- Cholesterol 410.25674105 mg
- Fat 54.9225261231776 g
- Fiber 1.71535003218963 g
- Protein 15.9053711311126 g
- Saturated Fat 25.5807425030467 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (283g)
- Sodium 525.846526152178 mg
- Sugar 85.2807163861915 g
- Trans Fat 6.04042862250397 g
- Calories 877 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt 1/4 cup margarine and add 1 cup crushed chocolate wafers (we use Nabiscos Famous brand) or crushed ginger snaps.
- Press into bottom of 10 inch springform pan.
- Slowly melt 8 ounces semisweet chocolate.
- Combine cream cheese, sugar and eggs, one at a time.
- Add the melted chocolate, cocoa, vanilla and (lastly) the sour cream.
- Once the mixture is thoroughly and smoothly combined, pour it into the spring-form pan with the crust.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Dont be surprised if, when you take the cake out of the oven, the top, which will have risen a great deal, has cracked.
- The cracks will heal somewhat as the cake cools and settles.
- Allow to cool and refrigerate.
- You can grate bitter chocolate as decoration.
Why did the center of the cheesecake drop after cooling? Achieving a dense, satiny crumb in a dense custard cake relies entirely on strict temperature management and mechanical aeration control. Cream cheese must sit at room temperature before beating, or lumps will persist through the mixing stage. Incorporating eggs one at a time prevents the emulsion from breaking and limits excess air introduction that causes structural collapse.
Standard dairy elements like sour cream and cream cheese provide structural acidity and moisture, but modifications require careful ratio adjustments. Swapping standard cream cheese for low-fat alternatives introduces excess water content, which alters the final set and requires a longer baking window at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Margarine can replace butter in the chocolate wafer crust without compromising the base, provided the crumbs are thoroughly coated to resist moisture migration from the filling.
Cooling the finished dessert gradually inside the turned-off oven minimizes thermal shock, which prevents deep surface fissuring. Refrigerating the chilled springform pan for at least four hours solidifies the cocoa fats and stabilizes the dense crumb before slicing.
