Chocolate Lover’s Cheesecake

I have been borderline obsessed with cheesecake for a very long time. I was in high school when I started requesting a cheesecake when my mom would ask what kind of birthday cake I’d like. I could always take or leave regular cake, but I swooned over cheesecake. My love for it has only grown since then, and I’ve enjoyed sampling and baking a wide variety of cheesecake recipes over the years. For as many as I’ve made (hello New York cheesecake, red velvet cheesecake, pumpkin cheesecake, Oreo cheesecake, and MANY others), I had yet to find a fabulous, go-to chocolate cheesecake recipe. I was surprised at how many of my staple baking cookbooks didn’t have a recipe for one. I finally came across one, and if you love chocolate, you are going to looooove this!

This is the first cheesecake I’ve ever made that is mixed completely in a food processor; it was nice and quick, but if you don’t have one, you could absolutely use an electric mixer instead.
It probably goes without saying, but this baby is rich. Like, whoa rich. If you’re sensitive to dark chocolate or rather rich desserts, I would recommend substituting semisweet chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate, and possibly skip the ganache topping to tame it down a bit.

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I chose to eat a small sliver of this topped with whipped cream, but you could also use this as a base for all sorts of toppings and add-ins. I used a similar version to make the black forest cheesecake last year, and I think the possibilities of a fantastic chocolate cheesecake base are absolutely endless.
If you’re a fellow cheesecake fanatic, you absolutely need a chocolate cheesecake in your arsenal, and I can’t think of a better version!

One year ago: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Crumb Bars
Two years ago: Maple-Walnut Ice Cream
Three years ago: Noodle Kugel
Four years ago: Russian Pound Cake
Six years ago: Homemade Pierogi

Chocolate Lover’s Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling:
- 32 ounces (907.19 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups (250 g) + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (21.5 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 10 ounces (283.5 g) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
For the Topping:
- ¾ cup (178.5 ml) heavy cream
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
- Blend the cookies and sugar together in a food processor until the cookies are finely ground. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
- Make the Filling: Blend the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder in the food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, blending for 10 seconds each. Add the melted chocolate and blend to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top.
- Bake the cheesecake until the center is just set and the top looks dry, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides of the pan. Place the cake in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Make the Topping: Stir the cream, chocolate and sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool until slightly warm and pour over the center of the cheesecake, spreading to within ½-inch of the edge. Chill for at least 1 hour.
- Run a thin knife around the sides of the pan and remove the pan sides. Transfer the cheesecake to a serving platter. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature before serving. The cheesecake can be prepared up to 3 days in advance; cover with foil and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!



Do you bake this in a water bath or dry?
Thanks for your help! Never made cheesecake before!
Hi Shannon, No water bath.
I’m totally making this for my birthday in a few months. Looks amazingly delicious!
That cheesecake looks absolutely to die for! I will definitely be trying this one, chocolate cheesecake is the best possible kind of cheesecake! Pinned!
Wow this looks so creamy and amazing!!
I’ve never been a birthday cake girl myself, I usually requested ice cream sundaes for my summer birthday! This cheesecake looks amazing! So rich and decadent, in other words – perfect!
This cheesecake is just beautiful Michelle! My chocoholic self would like a bite to maybe several. :) I am pinning it for a very special occasion and it will be all dark chocolate for this girl!
This looks amazingly delicious! I think Oreo crusts are my favorite.
I don’t have a food processor. Which do you think would work better, a Vitamix blender or a stand mixer?
Hi Linda, I would go with the stand mixer.
Why do you do this to me?!! Could anything be better than the Turtle Cheesecake recipe you shared last year? That was my favorite cheesecake ever!…so far! I’ll have to see if this takes over the number 1 spot! :)
This looks creamy and delicious! Love the ganache layer on top!
ahhhhhh, this looks SO incredible!! love this!!
This is definitely for chocolate lovers! It looks so rich and amazing and delicious.
looks sooo delicious! can i just ask you to maybe start writing the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate you are using? i don’t understand the american system, and it usually ends up with me using the wrong type of chocolate, and ruining the entire recipe :( ps. i love your blog though, it’s one of my favorites! :)
What an incredible looking cheesecake! Love that thick layer of ganache!
This looks so creamy, chocolatey, and melt in your mouth delicious! It certainly does look rich, but I would definitely get my chocolate fix. It’s just gorgeous!
re: oreo crust – does 24 ‘cookies’ mean entire oreos, or does one entire oreo contain two cookies (sans filling)? I’m guessing no filling due to the butter, but since the difference is twice as much I thought I’d ask :)
Hi Tracey, Use the entire Oreo cookie.
Mmmmm – I adore a sweet slice of cheesecake! I’m also a bit of a cheesecake snob – I need it to be sweet, but not too sweet – and as dense as possible without being dry … I know – total snob!!
This cheesecake looks delicious – and how can you ever go wrong with chocolate :)
This has everything I love in a dessert!
I’ll definitely be making that at the weekend, it looks very yummy! You should make a recipe book.
hi! this really looks great! and at a perfect timing as i was searching for the past couple of days what to bake for my nephew’s birthday! love the photos!! if only mine turns out this good looking!
I have to make this! Wow!! What is cpu chocolate?
Ohmygosh, lol you mean cup. I was Googling cpu thinking it was some new form of choc!
It is cup, sorry about that, I’ve fixed it :)
I have to make this! Wow!! What is cpu chocolate?
I would choose chocolate cheesecake over regular any day. This looks perfect and decadent! Also, I love making cheesecake in a food processor, the texture comes out so great.
I think almost everyone has that fascination with cheesecake. It’s just so much better than actual cake! And with that ganache on top…I’m going to have to try it!
I love cheesecake and I love chocolate but I don’t like chocolate cheesecake strangely enough! I love it on toppings but not in the actual cake. I’m weird.
I’m with you on that Annie, I think it’s something to do with the tang of the cream cheese – it just doesn’t go with chocolate IMO. I’m the same way with all the Oreo desserts that use cream cheese.
What a beautiful cheesecake? I look the images aswell… The way the fork slices into it… Feel for a slice right now!!!!!! YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Michelle, I think this recipe is calling my name — LOL!
This cheesecake looks so perfectly silky smooth! Oh my!
What a gorgeous cheesecake! The Oreo crust would be such a great touch I can imagine and great images….those PERFECTLY pointed front tips of the slices, and so perfectly cut and without so much as a crumb disturbed! Beautiful & pinned!
Oooh, I totally want a slice right now! It looks AMAZING.