3-Step Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

This is the cheesecake to make when you want to impress without committing to a 9-inch springform, water bath, and three-hour cooling routine. The whole assembly takes five minutes, the bake is forty, and the result is a dense, rich, chocolate-studded slice that tastes like it took twice the work.

The real differentiator is the chocolate chips. Most three-ingredient chocolate cheesecakes call for melted chocolate, which makes the filling smooth and uniform. Stirring whole chocolate chips into the batter instead leaves discrete pockets of melted chocolate suspended in the creamy filling. You get bites that are vanilla-cheesecake mellow and bites that are intensely chocolatey within the same slice.

Beating the cream cheese with the sugar before adding the eggs is the move that prevents lumps. Cold cream cheese fights the eggs and leaves you with a chunky filling, while properly softened, beaten cheese yields the silky texture cheesecake demands.

Pro Tips

• Bring the cream cheese to room temperature for at least an hour before mixing, this is the difference between silky and lumpy
• Don’t overbeat once the eggs are added, too much air leads to cracks across the top during baking
• The center should still jiggle slightly when you pull it from the oven, residual heat finishes the cook as it cools
• Three hours minimum in the fridge is required, the cheesecake firms up and the flavors deepen significantly during the chill
• Use a hot, dry knife for clean slices, run the blade under hot water and wipe between cuts

Variations

• Swap semi-sweet chocolate chips for white chocolate or peanut butter chips for an entirely different flavor profile
• Drizzle caramel sauce and a sprinkle of sea salt over each slice for a salted caramel version
• Add ¼ cup of cocoa powder to the batter for a fully chocolate cheesecake instead of vanilla-with-chips