I had planned on trying this recipe years ago. Really. I did. I mean, who doesn’t rush to make a chocolate cheesecake?
My first job was at a bakery.
I didn’t have to wait until my forties to realize what a great job I had way back when. Nope. I was entirely grateful and savored each moment of my sweet job every time I went to work. One of the joys of working at Scandia Bakery – besides working among cases of fresh doughnuts every day – was to wait on the Norwegian customers that came in for coffee and cake doughnuts every single morning. They would pay in coins and then walk to the big round table with the tole-painted chairs and catch up on all the latest town gossip that had happened in the last 24 hours. That, and I got to work with one of my best friends and sing along to Air Supply while using a broom handle as a microphone every single weeknight after school.
One day I had a conversation with Myrtle (also known as Stanwood, Washington’s one-woman chamber of commerce).
She was filling me in on how her chocolate cheesecake recipe had accidentally been left out of the latest Scandinavian Cookery cookbook. I told her it sounded heavenly and the very next day Myrtle placed her handwritten recipe cards on the counter for me so that I could make it myself. I was so excited.
I finally made it this week – almost thirty years later – surely in the amount of time it has taken me to make this chocolate cheesecake, Myrtle’s children are now sitting around a table somewhere in Stanwood sharing the latest town gossip and their kids now have teenage kids of their own.
Chocolate Cheesecake
Crust
- 1 package Oreo cookies
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Cheesecake
- 1 cup heavy cream (divided)
- 1 cup high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 – 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Sour Cream Topping
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
Place 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and the chocolate chips into a double boiler. Heat over low heat while stirring until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 275°F.
Blend cream cheese and sugar until well mixed.
Blend in the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream and vanilla.
Add (gasp) the chocolate mixture. Why did I wait so long to make this?
After chocolate is mixed in, add eggs and mix again.
Make chocolate crust by placing Oreos, sugar, and melted butter into a food processor. Process until crumbled fine.
Press crust into an 8-inch springform pan. You can press it all into the bottom of the pan or press it into the sides as well for a full crust.
I have a larger pan, so my cheesecake was more spread out resulting in not-so-high-but-just-as-delicious slices.
Place cheesecake into the crust and smooth out the top. To prevent cracks from forming on the top of your cheesecake, place the springform pan in a little bit larger pan. Then fill an even larger pan with about one inch of water and place the cheesecake into the water bath.
Place in preheated oven and bake for two hours. When cheesecake is done baking, allow it to cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge until cold and firm.
You’re welcome.
Blend sour cream topping ingredients together well and place on top of cheesecake. Myrtle says to cover with mini chocolate chips but to kick things up a notch, I used a potato peeler to grate high-quality chocolate over the top instead.
Thank you, Myrtle. I wish I could give you a call to tell you that you were right – it certainly should have been in the cookbook.
