Eating Well's Chocolate Cheesecake (2 of 2)
Submitted by dixie red
Lighter chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate wafer and Grape-Nuts crust. Cottage cheese blended smooth with cream cheese, melted chocolate, espresso, and cocoa for triple chocolate richness.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
10 hrsThis chocolate cheesecake is an Eating Well recipe, meaning it’s designed to taste indulgent while cutting fat where you won’t miss it. The clever move: blending strained cottage cheese until silky smooth, then combining it with cream cheese for a filling that’s lighter than all-cream-cheese versions but still rich and creamy.
Triple chocolate hits from three directions: melted chocolate in the filling, unsweetened cocoa powder in both the crust and the filling, and chocolate wafers ground into the crust. Dissolved instant coffee deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee. It’s a baker’s trick that makes chocolate taste more chocolatey.
The crust blends chocolate wafers with Grape-Nuts cereal for added crunch and structure. The cereal gives the crust more body than wafers alone, so it holds together firmly when you slice.
Squeeze the cottage cheese through cheesecloth until the moisture is truly pressed out. Skip this step and the filling will be watery, and no amount of baking fixes excess moisture in a cheesecake.
Chef Tips
- Process the strained cottage cheese until completely smooth, at least 2 full minutes. Any graininess shows up in the finished cheesecake
- The center should look shiny and slightly jiggly when done. It sets fully during the 8-hour chill
- Run a knife around the edge immediately after baking to prevent cracks as the cake contracts while cooling
- Dip your knife in hot water and wipe dry between every single slice for clean cuts
Variations
- Mocha version: Double the instant coffee for a more pronounced espresso-chocolate combination
- Raspberry swirl: Drop spoonfuls of raspberry purée onto the filling before baking and swirl with a knife
- Oreo crust: Replace the chocolate wafers and Grape-Nuts with crushed Oreos for a simpler, more intense chocolate base
Ingredients
Directions
To make crust: Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
Coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Place chocolate wafers, Grape-Nuts, cocoa and sugar in a food processor; using an on/off motion, process until you have fine crumbs.
Add oil and 3 tablespoon water; process until the crumbs are moistened.
Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1½ inches up the sides of the prepared pan.
Set aside.
To make filling: Melt chocoalte in top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water or in a microwave oven at medium (50%) power.
Let cool slightly.
Dissolve instant coffee in 1 tablespoon boiling water and set aside.
Place cottage cheese in a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth.
Gather up the cheesecloth and squeeze out moisture from cottage cheese.
Put pressed cottage-cheese solids in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Add cream cheese, sugar, egg, egg whites, sour cream, cocoa, cornstarch, salt, vanilla the melted chocolate and the dissolved coffee; process until smooth.
Pour into the crust-lined pan.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until firm around the edge but still shiny and slightly soft in the center.
Run a knife around the pan to loosen edges.
Let cool in the pan on a rack.
Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours or for up to 2 days.
Remove sides. To facilitate cutting, dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe dry before cutting each slice.
Serves 16.
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