Friday, August 7, 2009

Chocolate Cheesecake


I was Introduced to this cheesecake about 6 years ago. I was given a piece that was brought home by my Mum after a dinner party.
The cheesecake was said to be made by a friend of her friend.

I
t must have been the best cheesecake I ever had and of course I instantly asked her to try and get the recipe for me.
"Marianne's Cheesecake" the recipe said. The name just stuck and it has always been referred to as "Marianne's Cheesecake." The funny thing is, I have never met Marianne, but I would like to thank her where ever she is for this delightful cheesecake recipe.


There's absolutely nothing complicated about this recipe. Its simplicity is what makes this cheesecake so appealing to make (and eat) and there is no baking required.
The recipe actually calls for digestive biscuits for the base of the cheesecake, but now that I'm living in New York and can't buy them so easily, I just used chocolate chip cookies.

Marianne's Cheesecake

For the base:
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chip cookies (or chocolate digestive biscuits if you have them)
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
For the top:
  • 3 1/4 cups really good dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
  • 1 cup finely ground white sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tubs soft cream cheese (8 oz tubs)



In a food processor, grind the chocolate chip cookies to course crumbs. Then add the butter, brown sugar and cocoa powder and pulse a few times until combined.




Add this mixture to a 9 inch round spring form cake pan and press it firmly into the bottom of the pan until you're left with a flat, compressed surface.




Place the pan in the refrigerator.



Fill 1/3 of a medium sized sauce pan with water and heat on the stove until the water begins to simmer, then turn the heat to medium/low.



Place a heat proof bowl on top of the pan and add the broken up chocolate.


When the chocolate has melted add the sugar and stir well, then add the heavy cream.

Let this all melt together and then take the bowl off the heat.



Add the softened cream cheese to the bowl of chocolate and whisk this well with an electric mixer.

Pour this mixture on top of the base of the cake pan and smooth out on top with a spatula. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 3 hours until set.


When the cheesecake is ready to be served, run a knife around the whole cake, then un-clip the spring form pan gently and remove the top.


I like to take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving, so that it slightly softens.



31 comments:

  1. wowsa, that is one luscious looking chocolate cheesecake

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  2. OMG! This looks simply decadent. I see from the photo you are using Valrhona chocolate; good call. That's all I use in baking... there's nothing like it. I think I learned that from Rose Levy Beranbaum, who wrote the Cake Bible. You should pick it up if you don't have it.

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  3. Swoon! That is chocolate heaven to me!

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  4. Hello People, I was on a holiday for a month just passing by read this interesting post its great to see that every thing here is getting more lively...thanks a lot for these keep them coming....

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  5. Looks lovely. I love this no bake cheesecake, except I make it with paneer. No creamcheese here. :)

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  6. I cannot BELIEVE how dark and intense this cheesecake looks; oh my. I'm throwing away my chocolate cheesecake recipe and giving this a try!

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  7. Oh my! I'm going to be making that this week!

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  8. This cheesecake looks wonderful! Is there a chocolate "icing" on top of the cheesecake? Thanks ... Debbie

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  9. Thanks Debbie :)No there's no icing, it's just the cheesecake!

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  10. Oh boy. What a great looking dessert, and how absolutely dangerous that it requires no baking! Making it the perfect summer treat. I wonder if you could swap out just about any type of cookie for the base, as you already have. That would be a fun experiment at the very least!

    Anyway, I found you through TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.

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    Casey
    Editor
    www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

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  11. ooo my! my sweet tooth started tingling at the site of this decadent cheesecake!

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  12. i want a bite! no i want the whole cake!!! hehe

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  13. That looks like perfect chocolate heaven!

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  14. Hey, can you email me at april@gowithimg.com. I'd love to talk more with you about Marianne's cheesecake recipe. Thanks!

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  15. I just saw this recipe and I have good news for you, I am also in NYC and I've found a Irish store in the city that sells digestive biscuits. I gave a friend a big ol bag of them for Christmas and she was ecstatic! You can find them at Myers of Keswick in the West Village. http://www.myersofkeswick.com/Home.html
    Enjoy!

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  16. Thanks for letting me know. I've seen Myers of Keswick, but I didn't go in, I've actually been to Tea and Sympathy next door though!

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  17. Nice blog! this cheesecake looks so so good!

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  18. Hey everyone!
    This recipe was featured on this website! http://www.cheesecake-recipes.org/featured/bowl-of-mush.php

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  19. oh, wow, that does look very decadent indeed. photos are great & I'm sure the taste was sublime.

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  20. That cheesecake looks obscenely delicious! I HAVE to try this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Chocolate heaven. I have to make this. I have a son who is a chocolate freak so he'll love it!

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  22. Chocolate heaven. I have to make this. I have a son who is a chocolate freak so he'll love it!

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  23. OMG !. This looks devlishly divine!cheese cakes are my absolute fav!.

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  24. I cant wait to try this one. I have been looking for chocolate recipe that requires no baking. Thank God, I happen to browse this site while I was looking for a Blueberry Cheesecake recipe. :)

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  25. Is it okay to use marscapone instead of cream cheese? Will it differ the taste? Thanks !

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  26. Absolutely, it would be delicious with mascarpone! :)

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  27. Hi, I tried this for the first time at a sleepover, and it was great! I have a tooth for creamier chocolate, so will probably use milk chocolate instead of dark, but this is a wonderful recipe, thankyou sooooooo much !!!

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  28. Haha. Hello...
    If the recipe came from Edinburgh I'm your original source. Pleased to see it's been liked by people!

    Works well with fresh chilli (cooked with sugar and added to the mix) btw.

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  29. ITs MY FAV! YUMMY

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  30. Hello,

    The INFAMOUS Marianne is my girlfriend, and she taught me to make this cheesecake. However, when I tried making this on a recent trip to Moldova, my Romanian/Russian wasn't quite up to scratch, and I ended up using "Smetana", which it turns out is sour cream... and it turned out to be deliciously tangy!!!

    The funny thing is, it was the use of English style oaty biscuits in the base (Hobnobs to educated lucky few), which caused most excitement among my Moldovan friends...

    Anyway, try sour cream, it was great! And raisins in the base, but beware of crumbling if its too thin, with not enough butter.

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