Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake: A Show-Stopping Dessert

 

The trees were up and sparkling beautifully, my stacks of Christmas cards ready for mailing, so it was time to host my first party of the season: a ladies’ luncheon on a crisp Sunday in December. A table full of wonderful women, a beautiful setting, and the star of the afternoon—an Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake that disappeared faster than the prosecco.

I’d spotted a version of this recipe in Garden & Gun magazine and immediately started tinkering (because who can resist the marriage of espresso and dark chocolate in creamy, dreamy form?). The result was rich, silky, and just caffeinated enough to keep the conversation sparkling all afternoon. The beauty of it is that it’s make ahead, so you can dazzle guests at your own holiday party without being frazzled when they arrive, so here it is—my slightly adapted, thoroughly tested, guaranteed-to-impress version.

Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake
(Serves 12–16, depending on how generously you slice)

For the crust
12 sheets graham crackers, finely ground (about 1½ c. crumbs)
2 T. sugar
⅛ t. cinnamon 
6 T. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling
3 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened 
2 8-oz. pkgs. mascarpone, softened
1 c. sugar 
3 shots fresh espresso (about ⅓ c.), cooled 
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the dark chocolate ganache
8 oz. Ghirardelli 60% chips
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. light corn syrup (optional, for shine)

 For garnish
1 c. heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Chocolate-covered espresso beans (Melissa’s are my favorite)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. 

In a food processor, blend cream cheese and mascarpone until smooth. Add sugar, espresso, cocoa powder, and vanilla; process until silky. Add eggs one at a time, pulsing just until incorporated—don’t overmix. 

Pour filling over crust. Place springform pan into a larger roasting pan and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the sides (classic water bath).

Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven, crack the door slightly, and let cheesecake rest inside for 1½ hours. This slow cooling is the secret to a crack-free top. 

Chill at least 24 hours (yes, really—patience pays off). 

Make the ganache: Heat 1 cup cream until tiny bubbles form around the edge. Pour over chopped chocolate, wait 2 minutes, then whisk until glossy. Whisk in corn syrup if you want extra shine. Spread over chilled cheesecake and refrigerate 1 hour.  Whip remaining cream, pipe a pretty border, and scatter chocolate-covered espresso beans like edible jewels.

 Slice, serve, and watch your guests swoon. This cheesecake is holiday magic in a springform pan—rich enough to feel celebratory, but with that subtle espresso kick that keeps everyone coming back for “just one more tiny sliver.”

 Happy baking, and may your season be filled with good friends, full glasses, and zero cracked cheesecakes!

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Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse

Number one son and his family came for dinner on Friday night, so I had to make a memorable dessert. My grandkids know me as the grandma with lots of toys who makes great desserts, so I have a bit of a reputation to keep. I had spotted this cake on the I Am Baker blog, and thought I would give it a try. I found this very easy to put together, it can be made in stages and stored overnight, if need be, and it was spectacular!

The following night, I served it to number two son and his wife, and they went crazy as well. This is a cake that has made its way into my permanent repertoire, and I don’t say this lightly. It is one that is going to be made again and again, and, thanks to the change up of decorative sprinkles, can be served any time of the year. This must be experienced to be believed. Make it!

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse

Slightly adapted (and renamed) from I Am Baker

CHOCOLATE CAKE

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk room temperature

½ cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE

½ cup heavy whipping cream

4 oz. cream cheese

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp. whole milk 

  

GANACHE

16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups heavy cream, room temperature

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8” round cake pans (I use Baker’s Joy.)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the work bowl of your stand mixer, and mix until combined.

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

To the bowl of the stand mixer, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, with the mixer on low speed. With mixer still on low, add the coffee, and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out mostly clean (not wet).

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Scoop the whipped cream into a small bowl and place in refrigerator.

In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla, and beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes.

Add confectioners sugar and beat again for another minute.

Add the milk and beat until smooth, about 20-30 seconds.

Fold the chilled whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture and stir until combined.
 

GANACHE

 Heat the heavy cream in a quart-sized, microwavable container and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes on high, or until it just begins to simmer. Be careful not to allow the cream to boil over. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips, and let stand for at least 2 minutes so that it can thicken. (Ganache should be cool when pouring over cake.) When ready to pour over chilled cake, whisk the ganache until smooth and then pour.

TO ASSEMBLE

 When ready to assemble cake, spread peanut butter filling over one layer of chocolate cake, then set the other layer on top. Chill. Cover with prepared ganache. Chill cake until ready to serve.

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Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake

When it comes to chocolate, I say go big or go home. So, when I spotted a recipe online for a double chocolate loaf cake, I decided to go big and make it a triple chocolate loaf cake. I'm not a baker, as you all know, but yesterday I really felt like baking, and I really wanted chocolate. This is the best tasting, richest, most chocolaty cake I've ever eaten. Topping it with the ganache takes it over the top; the chocolate lover in your life is going to thank you for making this decadent dessert. 

Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake

Adapted from a recipe by King Arthur Flour

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa powder

1/3 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons Melissa’s Organic Cocoa Nibs

3/4 cup whole milk

2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1/2 cup heavy cream

Sprinkling of Fleur de Sel 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, leaving a two-inch overhang for easy removal from the pan. Spray with Pam.

Using a stand mixer beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, baking powder, espresso powder, and both cocoas until well combined, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and nibs, alternating with milk, and mix on low speed for about 2 minutes. Fold in 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and smooth out evenly. Place in oven and bake for 60 minutes or until the top of the loaf springs back when gently pushed on the surface.

Let cool while making the ganache: Warm the cream in a small pan over low heat. Add 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and let the heat of the cream melt the chocolate for a few minutes. Stir until smooth and lump free. Pour the ganache over the cake covering completely. It's okay if it runs down the side. Let the cake rest until the ganache sets. (Refrigeration speeds up this process.) When ganache is set, lift the cake out of the pan using the foil "tails," and garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, if desired. Sprinkle lightly with fleur de sel. Slice the cake into thick wedges and serve.

PRINT RECIPE

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Creole Brownies

I’m not a particular fan of brownies.  A brownie, I think, is one of those food items that doesn’t really know what it wants to be.  There are fudgy brownies and cake-like brownies, some are soft, and some are chewy.  So what are they?  Cake?  Fudge?  What??  If I want cake, by God, I’ll make cake.  Same thing with fudge, if that’s what I want.  To me a proper brownie should, first of all, be chocolate, so chocolaty that you’re knee deep in it.  Secondly, it should be dense, rich, crispy at the edges, deep, dark, and deliciously chewy on the inside, and it must, oh yes, MUST have icing, or rather, a chocolate ganache as rich and delicious as it is.  Finding a brownie like this seemed an impossible task, and then I opened up what has become my favorite cookbook, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl and Griff Day.  When I saw the picture of the Creole Brownies staring up at me from page 192 I knew this was the recipe for me.  It was.  These are, without a doubt, the best brownies EVER.

I made a couple of alterations.  I wanted them thicker, so made them in a 9” square pan and, as such, baked them for about 26 minutes (test for doneness if you do the same).  I also used Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso because it was late and I didn’t want to make up a pot of strong coffee.

Here’s the recipe, but do me a favor, and just buy this book.  You’ll thank me later.

Creole Brownies

For the brownies

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2-1/2 cups granulated sugar

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa nibs (I left these out)

For the ganache

1 cup heavy cream

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/3 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

¼ cup hot freshly brewed New Orleans-style chicory coffee or strong regular coffee

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Fleur de sel for sprinkling (optional)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.  Lightly grease a 9x13x2-inch baking pan and line with parchment, allowing the ends of the paper to hang over two opposite sides of the pan.

To make the brownies: Set a large heatproof bowl* over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bottom of the bowl touch the water), add the butter and chocolate, and stir frequently until melted and smooth.

Remove the bowl from the heat, add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir until completely combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add the flour and stir until the batter is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir in the cocoa nibs (if you use them, I did not.)

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.  When the brownies are done, a slight crack will have formed around the edge.  Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the ganache:  Combine the cream, butter, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl*, set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water), and stir until the butter is melted.  Add the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is completely smooth.

Remove the bowl from the heat, add the coffee and vanilla, and stir until smooth.  The ganache will thicken as it cools.

To finish the brownies: Invert the brownies onto a baking sheet and remove the parchment.  Pour the thickened ganache over the brownies, spreading it evenly with a spatula or butter knife into a thick layer on top.  Let the brownies stand until the ganache is completely set and sprinkle with fleur de sel if desired.

Cut into squares.  The brownies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

*If you don’t have a set of Duralex Bowls, get some.  These are invaluable in situations like this.

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