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Chocolate Basque Burnt Cheesecake

The indulgent, creamy, and chocolatey cheesecake of you dreams!
Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 1⅓ cups (320 mL) heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
  • 100 grams bittersweet chocolate 64% to 80% cacao, roughly chopped*
  • 2⅞ cups (650 grams) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
  • 1 to 1⅛ cups (180 to 215 grams) sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 medium eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon (10 grams) cocoa powder natural or Dutched is okay**

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) using the oven setting where both upper and lower heat are on. Place oven rack in the middle. Lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch springform pan, then line with two overlapping 16- x 12-inch sheets of parchment. Make sure the parchment comes at least 2 inches above the rim of the pan on all sides. Pleat and crease to fit parchment into the pan as needed. It won't look neat but that's normal. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills.
  • In a saucepan, heat the cream just until it starts to steam and form tiny bubbles around the sides of the pan. Do not let it simmer and especially do not let it boil! We just want to scald it enough to melt the chocolate. You can either pour the hot cream over the chocolate, or place the chocolate into the pan with the cream. Leave for about a minute then stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool while you continue with the recipe.
  • In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and salt, until the sugar is completely dissolved. (Use up to 1⅛ cups sugar if you use chocolate with a higher cacao content.) To test, rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers to see if it is not grainy to the touch anymore. Using a hand mixer will be easier, but beating it by hand will work just fine.
  • Using a spatula, mix in the eggs one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.
  • Make sure the chocolate cream is barely warm to the touch before adding it into the cream cheese mixture. Add in the cocoa powder as well (sift it in if you want it completely smooth), then whisk everything until fully incorporated and the mixture is homogenous. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl as you mix to make sure everything is well incorporated and there are no unmixed bits at the bottom.
  • Strain the batter into your pan through a fine mesh sieve for a smoother cheesecake. Bake cheesecake for about 25 minutes. The top will be slightly burnt at this point, and it will have developed a "skin". The cheesecake should still be very jiggly as well. If you would like to burn the tops further, bake for a little longer. (You want the cheesecake to come out of the oven jiggly so that it'll be soft and creamy inside, so take care not to overbake.)
  • Allow the cheesecake to cool down completely before covering with plastic wrap and putting in the fridge. (If you refrigerate it while it's still a little warm as I did, you will get moisture trapped inside. It doesn't affect the taste of the cheesecake but you might feel that it's a little "wet".)
  • Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight for best texture and flavor. If you prefer your cheesecake molten in the center or very very soft, feel free to dig right in before popping the cheesecake in the fridge.

Video

Notes

*Use at least 70% cacao chocolate for a darker hue, up to 80% cacao. If using 80% go up to 1-1/8 cups of sugar to balance out the bitterness.
**If you don't have cocoa powder, you can substitute all-purpose flour. The cocoa will impart additional chocolate flavor however, so I still recommend the use of cocoa powder.
Adapted from Olives In The Oven blog