Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with Fresh Strawberries

My wife comes from a long line of sweet tooth fanatics so when I whipped up this Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with Fresh Strawberries I knew she’d be obsessed.  Making cheese cake in general is actually very easy, it’s suffering through the cooling down process that can be so agonizing.  Of course, there are those super cool down tricks one can do like popping it into the freezer so that one can consume it quicker, but hey this is a chef’s kitchen and I want to show you how to properly make a chocolate cheese cake, so no cheating.  However, I wouldn’t blame you if you did throw it in the freezer because it really is that delicious.

I’ve been making cheese cakes since I started working in the restaurant industry when I was 13.  We used to make a special cheese cake every few days after they would sell out and it was up to us to come up with the flavor.  We tried everything from candy bar chunks to fresh raspberry all the way to liqueur base cheese cakes, but one thing always seemed to ring true throughout the process and that was the simpler the better.  I remembered that thought when I created this Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with Fresh Strawberries, so keeping flavors that were complimentary to one another was crucial.  I mean we’re talking about adding chocolate and strawberries, how could you go wrong?

The crust of any cheesecake, or pie for that matter, is always the best part so it’s incredibly important to make sure it is extremely flavorful.  I used a cookie crust using those delicious little chocolate cream filled fellas, you know the name, along with some melted butter and then packed it in tight into a spring form pan.  I’m partial to an extra thick crust so that is the main reason for so many cookies in the recipe.  If you aren’t as crazy about crusts like I am then you can absolutely back off of the number of cookies you’d like to add in there and remember to take away a bit of the butter as well.  Once the crust is filled into the pan it’s now time to make the chocolate cheesecake batter.  Again, I can’t stress how easy it is to make cheese cake, the ingredients are simply cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, sour cream, heavy whipping cream and chocolate, that’s it.  The process to make the batter is easy and the cooking process is extremely easy as well.  Once you cream together the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder you add in everything else.

Remember that the chocolate needs to be melted before going in and the process can be a little odd so I wanted to spell it out here for you in case you missed it in the video.  Place the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 1 minute.  Take the bowl out and stir it and place it back into the microwave for another 30 seconds.  Take it out again and stir it and then return it to the microwave for 1 more 30 second burst and then it will be melted.  Once the chocolate is folded into the cheese cake batter transfer the mixture over top the cookie crust and then wrap the outside of the spring form pan with aluminum foil.

Transfer the pan to a large cake sheet pan and fill it to the half way mark with water.  I’m obsessed with my Franke pot filler faucet; It allows me to keep everything right there at the stove without having to carry large pots or pans with water saving my back from any unwanted pain.  It looks amazing and it’s oh so efficient when it comes to cooking in my kitchen.  From the stove just kneel slightly and place the pan in the oven and let it bake for 90 minutes at 350°.  While it’s in the oven you can whip up the sour cream topping and prepare the strawberries.

I know it sounds crazy to think of sour cream being on top of a cheese cake but I can’t tell you how much flavor it adds to it.  It really compliments the sweet flavors of the cake and crust like no other, and it’s only 3 ingredients.  In the end if you decide you are too nervous to ice the whole top of the cheesecake, simply serve it on the side.  The strawberries go perfectly over top with all the chocolate goodness in this chocolate cheese cake recipe.  It’s a must to wash your strawberries and with the Franke roller mat it’s now even easier.  We are in love with our roller mat and use it every single day from drying dishes to setting hot pans on it so that it doesn’t ruin our countertops, the versatility of it is so beneficial to our everyday kitchen uses.

When the chocolate cheesecake is done cooking, take it out of the foil and set it on the roller mat until it cools to room temperature and then chill it in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours or until cold.  Yes, it’s hard to wait that long but I promise it’ll be worth the wait.  Well that’s it for now, good luck making this chocolate cheese cake and happy baking!