Mocha Chip Cheesecake

A rich chocolate cheesecake with coffee, mini chocolate chips, and a dark chocolate drizzle.  A perfect birthday cake for my husband.

It's that time of year again.  My husband's birthday was this weekend so I made him his usual chocolate cheesecake birthday cake with just a few tweaks.

For my husband's birthday I made his usual #chocolatecheesecake #birthdaycake [Tweet this]

It's always been a tradition in my family that the birthday person gets their favorite cake, whatever they like.  Even my sisters, who are twins, each got their own cake.  So every year I ask my husband what kind of cake he wants.  Often it's just chocolate cheesecake that he wants but this year he had the idea for a mocha chip (like the coffee drink you can get at a certain coffee shop) cheesecake.

The birthday person gets their favorite cake [Tweet this]

I've already experimented with the usual Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake recipe by adding coffee flavor a little at a time.  This time I just added more coffee flavor by using more finely ground coffee.  Then stirred in some mini chocolate chips for a deliciously rich cheesecake that tastes similar to a mocha chip frappuccino.  Oh and the smell, while it was mixing and baking.  Strong coffee and dark chocolate.  It was so mouth watering.  Then, when we were finally able to eat a piece; yum!  It had the rich creaminess of cheesecake with even richer dark chocolate and Kona coffee and a slight crunch from the milder semisweet chocolate chips.  It tasted amazing, but you only need a small slice to be satisfied and a big glass of milk.

You only need a small slice of cake and a big glass of milk [Tweet this]

Mocha Chip Cheesecake

Ingredients:

*Graham cracker crust
3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
8 oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely ground coffee
1/4 cup Hershey's special dark cocoa powder
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup mini chocolate chips
*Dark Chocolate Drizzle

Preheat oven to 350

*Graham Cracker Crust:  crush graham crackers (I used Diamond Bakery Hawaii: Kona Coffee Royal Creem Crackers) in a food processor, blender, or by hand until you have about 1 1/2-2 cups of crumbs.  Mix the crumbs with 1 stick of melted butter until thoroughly moistened.  Press into the bottom and a little up the side of an 8-inch springform pan.  Bake for about 10 minutes at 350F.

Increase oven temperature to 450F.

Cream together cream cheese (I used neufcahtel) and sugar until smooth.

Beat in the sour cream and vanilla.  Then add the coffee, cocoa, and flour and blend until fully incorporated.

Lastly, stir in the eggs at a time just until blended then gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into the springform pan over the crust.

Bake at 450F for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 250 and continue baking for about 40 minutes.  The cake is done when the sides are set, but there is still a small jiggly part in the center.

Remove cake from oven, loosen sides of cake from the pan by running a knife around the edge.

Allow cake to cool completely before removing the sides of the pan.

Prepare chocolate drizzle once the cake is cool.

*Chocolate Drizzle:  melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (or chocolate pieces) with 2 tsp vegetable shortening in the microwave.  Use 15-second bursts and stir well in between until melted.

Using a fork or a squeeze bottle drizzle the cake all over with the chocolate.  This is a great way to cover any cracks the cake might have.

Cool overnight in the refrigerator (or at least  few hours) before slicing and serving. Don't forget a glass of milk to go with it.

Makes about 12 servings

Enjoy.

If you want to see more check out my other chocolate cheesecakes:

Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake

Dark Mocha Cheesecake

For more chocolate recipes check out:

Chocolate Pound  Cake

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Special Dark Mocha Chip Cake

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7 Great Ideas for Pumpkin Cheesecake

A roundup of pumpkin cheesecakes shared with the Great Idea Thursdays link party.

It's that time of year when everyone will get sick and tired of seeing pumpkin and pumpkin spice recipes.  It has always been tradition, in my family, to have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert.  I made my first pumpkin pie this year and it turned out great but I used a store bought pie crust.  While I was eating my pumpkin pie I ended up scraping all the filling (and real whipped cream) off of the crust.  I don't really like regular pie crust I much prefer cookie crumb or graham cracker crusts.  Maybe next year I will see how pumpkin pie tastes on a cookie crust.  So, for my roundup today I thought I'd share a pumpkin pie like dessert that doesn't use traditional pie crust...Pumpkin Cheesecake.  It has the pumpkin theme that is so popular around Thanksgiving but you don't need traditional pie crust.

All of these recipes were shared at Great Idea Thursdays link party.  Come join the fun Wednesday @ 6pm EST through Sunday @ 11:59pm EST.  You can find many more pumpkin recipes and other great ideas on our Great Idea Thursdays Pinterest Board.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake:  an iconic holiday dessert from Her Organized Chaos

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumb Bars from The Ruffled Stitch

Easy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles from A Mitten Full of Savings

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Caramel Coating from Something Sweet

Pumpkin Cheesecake from Everyday Insanity

Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Jar from Everyday Insanity

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Vanilla "Sauce" from This Silly Girl's Life

Enjoy.

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Dark Mocha Cheesecake

A dark chocolate cheesecake with coffee flavor.

Every year for my husband's birthday I make him the same cake, Chocolate Cheesecake.  It's his favorite and he always requests it so I make the birthday boy happy.

Making the birthday boy happy often leaves me bored.  I like to try new and different recipes and I also need new recipes for my blog so making the same thing all the time is boring.  Granted this cake is only a once a year treat so I'm not making it all the time but I still like to experiment.

I was very pleased and excited when my husband liked my idea of adding coffee to the cheesecake for a mocha flavor.  He likes coffee so why not add some to the cheesecake.  My original plan was to add some espresso powder to the batter but he suggested I use finely ground coffee because the Maui Mocha that we have on hand tastes so much better.  I'm not one to disappoint the birthday boy so that's what I did.

I also found these great local graham crackers that were Kona coffee flavored (Kona is Hawaiian coffee and it tastes great) so I made a coffee graham cracker crust.  To finish off this Mocha Cheesecake I used a dark chocolate drizzle and tossed on some Maui Mocha coffee beans (they are so cute and tiny).  The coffee beans added more coffee punch and a little bit of crunch in every slice.

Dark Mocha Cheesecake

Ingredients:

*Graham cracker crust
3 8oz packs of cream cheese, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
8 oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa (I use hershey's special dark)
1 tsp finely ground coffee or instant espresso powder
2 Tbsp flour
3 eggs
*Dark chocolate drizzle
Coffee beans for garnish, optional

* Graham cracker crust:  Mix together 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs and 3/4 of a stick of butter (melted).  Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and heat in a 450F oven for 5 minutes.

* Dark chocolate drizzle:  melt together 1/2 cup of dark chocolate pieces and 2 tsp shortening.

In a very large bowl (I use my stand mixer) beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Add the sour cream and vanilla mixing well to thoroughly combine.  Then add cocoa powder, coffee, and four.  Mix until combined (make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl).

Lastly add the eggs, one at a time, and stir gently until just blended (do not over mix after adding the eggs).

Pour over *crumb crust and bake at 450F for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 250F and continue baking for about 40 minutes.  Cake is done when set but for a 3 inch jiggly bit at the center.

Remove from the oven and gently loosen the cake sides from the pan using a knife.  Allow to cool completely before removing the pan sides.

Drizzle on the *chocolate drizzle, add some coffee beans, and refrigerate overnight.

Makes about 12 servings.

Enjoy.

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Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake

A rich, dark chocolate cheese cake with a chocolate cookie crumb crust and chocolate drizzle.

My husband's birthday was last week and I always make him a cake.  I found this recipe years ago, from some recipe cards that Hershey's mailed out to my mom, and my hubby requests it every year.

I'm not a big fan of regular cheesecake, but a chocolate one I can get behind.  After all, it's not good dessert if it doesn't contain chocolate (that's my motto at least).

This cheese cake can be made with any type of cocoa powder, but I use Hershey's special dark to give it even more chocolate flavor.  The drizzle is semisweet chocolate but I've made it with dark chocolate and with peanut butter before.  White chocolate would be okay too, if you like it (I don't consider it real chocolate and it has no business in any good recipe).  The crumb crust I always make with Teddy Grahams (I just love the cute little guys) but any chocolate cookie would work. This time I flavored both the drizzle and the crumb crust with espresso powder.  Amazing!  I would like to try serving it with a raspberry syrup sometime (Hubby loves raspberries) so if anyone has a good recipe send it my way.

This cake is super rich and flavorful.  You don't need a very big piece to satisfy and it looks great.  It is perfect for any special occasion and is very simple to make (I'm not a cheesecake expert and it always cracks on be but the drizzle kinda hides the imperfections and it always tastes great).

Ingredients:
Recipe from Hershey's company (there is a similar one on the website)

*Chocolate crumb crust
3-8oz packs of cream cheese, soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
8oz sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 eggs
*Chocolate drizzle

*Chocolate crumb crust:  Mix together 1 cup of chocolate crumbs (I make crumbs by crushing about 2 cups of Teddy Grahams) and 1/2-3/4 stick of (melted) butter.  Add 1 tsp of instant espresso powder to the mix if you like. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and heat in a 450F oven for about 5 minutes.

*Chocolate drizzle:  Melt together (in microwave) 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 2 tsp vegetable shortening.  Mix thoroughly.  Add 1 tsp espresso powder if you like.

Cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add sour cream and vanilla, mixing well.  Beat in cocoa powder and flour and then add the eggs one at a time.  Stir until just blended then pour over *Chocolate crumb crust.

Bake the cake at 450F for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 250 and bake for about 40 minutes more.  Cake is done when there is a small giggly bit at the center (about 2-3 inches diameter).  Remove from oven and loosen cake sides from the pan (with a knife) and allow to cool completely before removing the sides of the pan.  (Cake will continue to cook while cooling and will set by the time it is completely cool)  Drizzle the *Chocolate drizzle over the top of the cake and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4-6 hours).  Makes 12 servings.  Enjoy.

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