This is the PERFECT triple chocolate cheesecake. It actually has 4 layers of chocolate! This cheesecake has an Oreo crust that is filled with a light and creamy chocolate cheesecake. It is topped with a silky chocolate ganache and a chocolate whipped cream. This is going to be the richest and lightest cheesecake you will ever have!
Updated: October 14, 2020.
The Best Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
This is seriously the best triple chocolate cheesecake. When I was first learning how to make cheesecake, this is the cheesecake I made. I have updated this recipe a lot to make it a really light and creamy cheesecake.
I call this my triple chocolate cheesecake, but there 4 fabulous layers of chocolate
- Oreo Crust– This is a buttery Oreo crust that gets prebaked in the oven. No soggy crust here!
- Chocolate Cheesecake– A creamy chocolate cheesecake that is easily made with a mixer. The trick is mix it a lot and scrape the bowl frequently.
- Chocolate Ganache– This simple chocolate ganache gets slowly spread over the sides of the cheesecake to get drips down the side.
- Chocolate Whipped Cream– The whipped cream is homemade with cocoa powder. The addition of whipped cream adds another layer of creaminess to the cheesecake
I have also topped it with Ghirardelli chocolate squares. The kind with caramel inside! This isn’t an AD, I just have a deep love for these chocolates and they pair so well with this cheesecake.
Making The Oreo Crust
Making an Oreo crust is super simple. You only need 2 ingredients. Oreos and melted butter. That’s it!
To get the Oreos into a fine crumb, blend them in a blender. It should be a very fine crumb. Then, use a fork to blend the butter and Oreos together. It should be wet and hold together.
That’s all you need to do! Then, the crust has to bake for 13 minutes. Normally I bake the crust for cheesecake for 10 minutes, but I wanted a sturdier base.
What Type Of Pan To Use
The pan you need is a 9 inch spring form pan. Use a quality pan so there is no chance of the pan giving out on you when holding a heavy cheesecake. I had to learn this the hard way.
Make sure to spray the pan with a baking non-stick spray. Spray it well! Then, line the bottom with 9 inch parchment paper circles. Spray the pan again with the baking spray. The cheesecake will come out easily once it’s baked and cooled.
Tips On Making Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake
Here are some tips to make this cheesecake.
- Room temperature ingredients– It is crucial that all of the dairy ingredients be pulled out a minimum of 2 hours before baking. Room temperature cream cheese is so much easier to blend until smooth.
- Use a mixer– To truly blend a cheesecake, you will have to use a stand or hand mixer.
- Sift cocoa powder– Normally cocoa powder has lumps in it. Make sure to sift it before adding the cheesecake batter. Lumpy cocoa powder can create pockets in the cheesecake.
- BEAT cream cheese– The cream cheese first has to be beaten on medium-high for 1 minute before adding in the sugar and cocoa powder. Then, you will beat again for 1 minute. The goal is beat all the cream cheese lumps out.
- Scrape the bowl A LOT– Basically, you are going to be scraping the bowl between each step and sometimes during the steps. This makes sure everything is mixed together and no lumps are left behind on the bottom of the bowl.
- Add in eggs– Add the eggs in one at a time on low. The goal is to introduce as little air as possible into the eggs. If there is a lot of air, it will cause the cheesecake to expand quickly and then collapse. Which means a cracked cheesecake.
Once the cheesecake is all made and super creamy, pour it into the spring form pan on top of the baked Oreo crust.
How To Prevent The Cheesecake From Cracking
I have made tons of cheesecakes over my baking career, here are my best tips to prevent cracking.
- Mix eggs on low- I mentioned this earlier, but mix the eggs into the batter on low.
- Use a water bath- I will describe in detail my favorite water bath technique below. A water bath surrounds the cheesecake with steam and tons of moisture. The extra steam keeps the cheesecake moist. If the cheesecake gets too dry, then it will crack.
- Bake until there is a slight jiggle- Over baking is also a reason why a cheesecake will crack. A perfectly baked cheesecake has a very slight jiggle in the middle but the edges are set. Once the timer goes off, jiggle the cheesecake. A slight jiggle means it very slightly moves.
- Slowly cool the cheesecake- Cooling down the cheesecake rapidly can also cause it to crack. Even immediately transferring the cheesecake from the oven to a cooling rack is too fast. Turn off the oven, crack open the door 4 inches, and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then, transfer to a cooling rack.
- Cool on a cooling rack- Once it cools for 30 minutes in the oven, let it cool completely before storing in the fridge. Storing a cheesecake in the fridge while its warm, relates to cooling a cheesecake to quickly.
My Favorite Water Bath Technique
There are so many techniques for creating a water bath. I have one technique that I use every single time I bake cheesecake.
First, you need a large (12X16 at least) roasting pan. The pan has to be big enough and deep enough to hold water and the pan without anything touching the sides.
Next, you need a 10 inch cake pan. Put the spring form pan inside the cake pan. Then, put the cake pan inside the roasting pan.
Fill the roasting pan with boiling water. It should go halfway up the cake pan.
This technique means that no hot water gets inside the spring form pan. The worst is when water gets inside and makes the crust soggy. Using the cake pan still allows the cheesecake to be surrounded in hot steaming water.
Trust me, this technique is fool proof. You will never want to go back to wrapping the pan in foil ever again!
Silky Chocolate Ganache
I love adding a layer of chocolate ganache to chocolate based desserts. All you need is chocolate chips and heavy cream!
Heat the heavy cream over medium-low heat until hot and steaming. Then, pour it over the chocolate chips.
Let the hot cream sit over the chocolate chips for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The heavy cream will melt the chocolate. Next, stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and silky.
Pour the chocolate ganache over the cheesecake. Make sure to take the pan and parchment circle off the cheesecake first.
Next, use an offset icing spatula and push the chocolate to the edge of the cheesecake. This gives you the pretty chocolate drips. This is optional, but I am a big fan!
Place in the fridge while you make the whipped cream.
Easy Chocolate Whipped Cream
This chocolate whipped cream is seriously SO good. I want to put it on all my baked goods. It would go great with pancakes. It also goes great with this cheesecake!
First, put your metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 10 minutes. A cold bowl makes it SO much easier to whip up heavy cream.
While the bowl is in the freezer, sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Then, pour heavy cream, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl.
Next, beat on medium-high until stiff peaks form. We need stiff peaks in order to pipe on top of the cheesecake.
For this cheesecake I used a Wilton 1M tip and make swirls on the side.
How To Get The Perfect Slice Of Cheesecake
So, you have spent all this time making the perfect triple chocolate cheesecake slice! With all of the layers, it is easy to smudge them together while cutting.
To prevent that use a large sharp knife. Then, clean your knife between each cut. That’s it! No other special secret. A clean sharp knife is how I cut this cheesecake and the layers turned out great!
How To Store This Cheesecake
Since this is cheesecake, it has to be stored in the fridge. You can store it in a cake carrier or cut it into slices and store in an air tight container. It will last up to 5 days in the fridge.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Is The Perfect Make-Ahead Dessert.
Actually, all of my cheesecakes are perfect for making ahead of time, which is great for events or birthday parties.
This cheesecake is best when chilled overnight. Make the cheesecake 1, 2, or even 3 days before you need it. The cheesecake is fine hanging out covered in the springform pan in the fridge.
I recommend decorating the cheesecake the day that you need it. It will take about 25 minutes to finish decorating it. It doesn’t take long.
Other Cheesecake Recipes To Try
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made this cheesecake. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 3 cups Oreos crushed into fine crumbs
- 5 TBSP Unsalted butter melted
Chocolate Cheesecake
- 24 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup White granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 cup Sour cream room temperature
- 1/4 cup Heavy cream room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3 Large eggs room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup Heavy cream
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- 1 cup Heavy cream cold
- 5 1/2 TBSP Powdered sugar sifted
- 3 TBSP Unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- Ghirardelli chocolate squares for decoration
Instructions
Oreo Crust
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non-stick baking spray. Line the bottom with a 9 inch parchment circle. Spray the pan again. Set aside.
- Use a blender or food processor to crush the Oreos into fine crumbs. Combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter together using a fork. The crumbs should be wet and hold together.
- Pour the crumbs into the pan. Use your hands to press the crust on the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Use the back of a measuring cup to compact the crust down. Bake for 13 minutes. Then, allow to cool slightly while you make the cheesecake batter.
Chocolate Cheesecake
- Start boiling some water for a water bath while you make the batter.
- Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese for 1 minute on medium-high. It should be noticeably fluffy. Add sugar and sifted cocoa powder. Blend on low until cocoa powder is mixed in. Scrape the bowl. Then, beat for 1 minute on medium-high. Scrape the bowl again to make sure it all mixed in.
- Add in sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat on medium for 1 minute. The cream cheese should be creamy and smooth. If there are any chunks, scrape the bowl and beat again for 30 seconds until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time on low. Mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl halfway through adding the eggs.
- Take the bowl off the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to fold the batter to make sure everything is combined. Pour batter into the pan. Use the spatula to smooth the batter.
- For the water bath use a large roasting pan. It should be about 12×16 inches. Then do 1 of the 2 methods.1. My preferred method. Use a 10 inch cake pan. Place spring form pan inside the cake pan. Then fill the roasting pan with boiling water about half way up the cake pan. This method makes sure no water gets inside the crust. 2. Wrap spring form pan twice in foil. Make sure it is tight! Place in the roasting pan and fill with hot water about half way up the spring form pan.Put the pan in the oven as soon as you put the hot water in. Bake for 60-75 minutes. The cheesecake is done baking when the edges are set and the middle has a slight jiggle. If there is a big jiggle in the middle, bake for another 10 minutes and check again.
- Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door about 3-4 inches. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes. This helps the cheesecake slowly cool. Then, transfer spring form pan to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Then, wrap in foil and place in the fridge. It needs to chill for 6 hours or overnight before decorating.
Chocolate Ganache
- Take off the spring form pan and take off the parchment circle. Then, pour chocolate chips into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium-low heat until hot and steaming.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and make sure the chocolate chips are covered in the cream. Let it sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Then, stir until silky smooth.
- Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cheesecake. Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate gently over the edge of the cheesecake to have it drip down. Then, smooth the chocolate. You can leave it smooth, add a swirl, or make a textured look.
- Chill in the fridge while you make the chocolate whipped cream.
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- Freeze the metal bowl and whisk attachment for 10 minutes. A cold bowl is easier whip up whipped cream in. Using a mixer, pour in heavy cream, sifted powdered sugar, sifted cocoa powder, and vanilla.
- Beat the heavy cream on medium-low until everything is mixed together. You may need to scrape the bowl several times to make sure all of the dry ingredients are mixed in. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Use a Wilton 1M tip and pipe the whipped cream on top of the ganache. *Optional. Cut Ghirardelli chocolate squares in half and place on top of the whipped cream. Keep cheesecake in the fridge.
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