Bo's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Bo’s recipe walks the line between a dense New York cheesecake and a French-style cheesecake soufflé, then lets you decide which side of the line to land on with the timer. Chocolate chips line the bottom of the graham crust, more get scattered across the top, and an egg-white-lifted cream cheese batter pours in between. The whipped whites are the secret: they fold air into a normally heavy batter and let the cake rise like a soufflé when you push the bake time longer.

Use real vanilla, not imitation. There’s enough of it here (two full tablespoons) that the difference will show up in the finished cake. Brown sugar adds a faint molasses warmth that plays with chocolate better than plain white sugar would. Watch for the wobble test: when the cake shakes like Jello, it’s done. A clean knife means you’ve gone too far.

Pro Tips

• Pull the cream cheese from the fridge an hour before mixing. Cold cheese leaves lumps no food processor can smooth out.
• Whip the egg whites only to soft peaks, not stiff. Stiff whites don’t fold smoothly and leave streaks in the batter.
• Slide a pan of hot water onto the rack below the cheesecake for steam. The humidity slows the rise and helps prevent cracks across the top.
• Cool the cake in the oven with the door cracked. Sudden temperature drops are what split the surface open.

Variations

• Use a chocolate cookie crust instead of graham for a deeper, darker base.
• Stir half the chips into the batter so chocolate runs all the way through, not just top and bottom.
• Swap mini chips for the regular size if the larger chips keep sinking on you.