Name: Chocolate and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 200g digestive biscuits; 100g unsalted butter; ⅛ teaspoon fine salt; 150g plain dark chocolate, min 70% cocoa solids; 550g cream cheese, at room temperature; 150g sour cream; 150g caster sugar; 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; small ¼ teaspoon fine salt

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Silky, velvety Chocolate and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake with a crunchy, slightly salty digestive biscuit base, is a creamy, dreamy cheesecake which you are absolutely going to love.

Loaded with sweet chocolate and vanilla, off set with tangy cream cheese and sour cream to cut through the sweetness and balanced with a hint of salt, this cheesecake is easy to make and utterly addictive on the palate. Ideal if you want a ‘make ahead’ dessert, it is as delicious after 2 days, as it is on the day you have made it.

If you are making it ahead of time, be sure to store it covered and in the fridge. However, for that silky, velvety, dreamy texture, be sure to serve it at room temperature.

How to make Chocolate and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

Collect all your ingredients together:

Base –

digestive biscuits or graham crackers
unsalted butter
fine salt

Cheesecake Topping –

plain dark chocolate
cream cheese, at room temperature
sour cream
caster sugar
eggs
vanilla extract
lemon juice
fine salt

How to make this delicious cheesecake:

First make the biscuit crumb layer – put the digestives in a freezer/sandwich bag and, using a rolling pin, bash and roll them until they make fine crumbs.
Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the biscuit crumbs and salt to the butter and mix thoroughly.
Press the biscuit crumbs into a lined cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside for the topping.
Next prepare and make the cheesecake topping: break the chocolate into squares and place in a microwave safe bowl. Melt in a microwave or a bain marie or and mix until smooth. Set aside to cool whilst you prepare the cheesecake mix. (See Recipe Notes for details.)
Beat the cream cheese with an electric whisk until smooth, creamy and lump free.
Add the sour cream, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and salt and whisk again, until just mixed in. Do not over-beat at this stage.
Dollop just over half of the vanilla cheesecake mix over the biscuit base, leaving spaces for the chocolate mix.
Add the melted chocolate to the vanilla cheesecake left in the owl and beat to mix thoroughly. Again, be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
Now dollop the chocolate cheesecake mix in between the vanilla cheesecake.
Using a knife, chopstick or skewer, swirl the cheesecakes to mix.
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. The centre of the cheesecake will still be quite wobbly but it will continue to cook. I like my cheesecake very soft and creamy. If you prefer a more cooked and slightly drier texture, simply cook it for 5 – 10 minutes longer.
After 25 minutes, turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool.
To maximise the soft and creamy texture, I like my cheesecake served at room temperature. If you serve it cold from the fridge, it will be a firmer texture. There is no right or wrong way, simply cook and serve it to suit your own personal preference.

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Chocolate and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

Silky, velvety Chocolate and Vanilla Baked Cheesecake with a crunchy, slightly salty digestive biscuit base, is a creamy, dreamy cheesecake which you are absolutely going to love.

Serves 6 – 8

Course afternoon tea, Cake, Dessert

Keyword baked cheesecake, cheesecake, Chocolate, vanilla

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Author Susan

Ingredients

Base –

200g digestive biscuits
100g unsalted butter
⅛ teaspoon fine salt

Cheesecake Topping –

150g plain dark chocolate, min 70% cocoa solids
550g cream cheese, at room temperature
150g sour cream
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
small ¼ teaspoon fine salt

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat oven to fan oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4
First make the biscuit crumb layer – put the digestives in a freezer/sandwich bag and, using a rolling pin, bash and roll them until they make fine crumbs.
Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the biscuit crumbs and salt to the butter and mix thoroughly.
Press the biscuit crumbs into a lined cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside for the topping.
Next prepare and make the cheesecake topping: break the chocolate into squares and place in a microwave safe bowl. Melt in a microwave or a bain marie or and mix until smooth. Set aside to cool whilst you prepare the cheesecake mix. (See Recipe Notes for details.)
Beat the cream cheese with an electric whisk until smooth, creamy and lump free.
Add the sour cream, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and salt and whisk again, until just mixed in. Do not over-beat at this stage.
Dollop just over half of the vanilla cheesecake mix over the biscuit base, leaving spaces for the chocolate mix.
Add the melted chocolate to the vanilla cheesecake left in the owl and beat to mix thoroughly. Again, be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
Now dollop the chocolate cheesecake mix in between the vanilla cheesecake.
Using a knife, chopstick or skewer, swirl the cheesecakes to mix.
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. The centre of the cheesecake will still be quite wobbly but it will continue to cook. I like my cheesecake very soft and creamy. If you prefer a more cooked and slightly drier texture, simply cook it for 5 – 10 minutes longer.
After 25 minutes, turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool.
To maximise the soft and creamy texture, I like my cheesecake served at room temperature. If you serve it cold from the fridge, it will be a firmer texture. There is no right or wrong way, simply cook and serve it to suit your own personal preference.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

Large freezer bag and rolling pin
Medium – large saucepan
Electric whisk
Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
Deep sided 20cm/8 inch round loose bottom tin, base lined with baking parchment and buttered

Be very careful melting the chocolate. Chocolate can be very difficult to work with. You can overheat it very easily and the mixture will go grainy. When this happens, there is no way to resolve it I’m afraid!

Microwave: I give the chocolate a minute in the microwave, take it out and stir it well, then let it sit for a few minutes to see if it continues melting sufficiently to melt all the chocolate. If not, I then continue with the microwave but in 10 – 15 second bursts.

Bain Marie: if you do not have a microwave, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Heat until the chocolate is very nearly melted then take it off the heat and take the bowl off the saucepan. Be very careful not to burn yourself as the bowl will be hot and steam will escape from the saucepan. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes for the residual heat to melt the remainder of the mixture. Again, be careful not to over-heat.

Making ahead:

This cheesecake is ideal if you want a ‘make ahead’ dessert; it is as delicious after 2 days, as it is on the day you have made it. Be sure to store it covered and in the fridge. However, for that silky, velvety, dreamy texture, it is important that you serve it at room temperature.