Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

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This chocolate orange cheesecake is creamy, fragrant and super easy to make!

Cheesecake.

Some people I know claim to hate it.

Yes, really they do.

I often wonder if cheesecake-haters have just yet to try a really good cheesecake.

Or, maybe they’ve only tried New York-style cheesecake, and they don’t realize there’s cheesecake life outside of New York.

We happen to love cheesecake.

And my favorite style is creamy, rich, a-little-sliver’ll-do-ya-right, cheesecake.

Making cheesecake is fun too; it’s so forgiving with flavors that you can mix and match all sorts of blends and most of the time it’s amazing.

I don’t consider myself a baker even though I will bake, and I do on occasion like to make desserts.

But, even though cheesecake is baked … I don’t really consider it a baked good.

Maybe that’s why I love making it.

Eh.

Who knows.

Here’s a good one to try.

Like, soon.

Here are some of the kitchen tools I use to make cheesecake:

Springform Pan

Food Processor

Large Roasting Pan

KitchenAid Mixer

Hand Mixer

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Chocolate Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Whipped Cream

Yield: 8 to 10

Prep Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

This chocolate orange cheesecake is creamy, fragrant and super easy to make!

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Ingredients

• 2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick salted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons cocoa powder + 1 tablespoon
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese (at room temp)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1/2 cup finely chopped chocolate
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat the inside of a 10-inch spring-form pan with non-stick spray, and set it aside.

In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, 4 teaspoons cocoa powder and butter. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up 1-inch of the wall of the springform pan. Set the pan in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Whisk the cream cheese and sugar together with a mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one fully before adding the next. Add the sour cream, orange zest, chocolate and vanilla extract, and mix over medium-low speed until it’s just combined.

Set a pot of water to boil on the stove. Remove the springform pan from the fridge, and wrap the outside with foil and place it into a large roasting pan. Pour the cheesecake filling inside the springform pan, using a spatula to smooth out the top. Set the roasting pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven, and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, until it comes about 1-inch up the outside of the springform pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the cheesecake has firmed up but still jiggles. Remove it from the oven, and carefully pull the springform pan out from the roasting pan. Place it on a cooling rack, and allow it to cool for at 20 minutes at room temperature.

For the chocolate whipped cream:

1. Add the whipping cream, powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to a medium bowl. Use an electric mixer set on high to beat the mixture until it thickens to whipped cream, about 2 minutes.
2. Spread the whipped cream in an even layer over the cheesecake. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 2 hours before serving, but it’s even better if you wait overnight. Garnish with a little orange zest and cocoa powder, and slice with a warm knife (run it under hot water for a few seconds prior to each slice).