A delicious chocolate cheesecake with a shortcrust pastry shell, a chocolate cheesecake tart. If you’re craving a creamy chocolate dessert, don’t miss this opportunity. It’s quick to make and absolutely delicious. It’s a baked cheesecake with lots of chocolate, and of course, with plenty of light cheese, I’ve used ricotta and soft cheese like Philadelphia for the cheese filling, which we can also make at home with simple yogurt, to which I’ve added lots of good dark chocolate to make the chocolate cheesecake special. And as if that weren’t enough, I’ve prepared a dark chocolate topping to add once the chocolate cheesecake has cooled.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for Chocolate Cheesecake with Shortcrust Pastry
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup soft cream cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- to taste vanilla extract
- 7 oz dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup milk or cream
Tools for Making Chocolate Cheesecake
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Springform Pan
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Spoon
Steps for Making Chocolate Cheesecake
Work sugar and cubed butter into a creamy mixture, then add flour, cocoa, a bit of vanilla, and work into a sandy mixture. Finally, add the 2 eggs and work until you get a homogeneous dough, smooth but not sticky, working just enough to bind the dough. Let it rest in the fridge wrapped in cling film.
In a large bowl, sift the ricotta. I used a simple sieve, which is more than sufficient. Add the cream cheese and sugar mixed with cocoa to the ricotta, and work to get a smooth cream. Then add the eggs, vanilla, and finally add 7 oz of melted, cooled chocolate, which can be melted in the microwave in defrost mode to avoid burning, or in a bain-marie. Mix well.
Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin on a well-floured surface, also flour the pastry and roll it out thinly to cover a mold about 9.5-10 inches in diameter, preferably a springform pan or with removable base. Roll the pastry large enough to cover the entire edge in height.
Flour the pastry well on the surface, and adhere this part to the pan which does not need to be buttered and floured. Trim off excess pastry, I made some cookies with which I decorated the cheesecake since I couldn’t add whipped cream puffs as I did with the slice above because I had to transport it.
Prick the base with a fork and pour in all the filling. Bake in a preheated static oven at 340°F for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove from the mold when it has cooled a bit to avoid breaking it.
Melt 7 oz of dark chocolate with 1/2 cup of milk or fresh cream in a saucepan or microwave, just enough time to heat the milk, and then continue to stir until it melts.
Transfer the cake to a serving tray, and once it’s a bit cooled down, pour the chocolate ganache over the cheesecake, level it, and let it cool further. It takes a while until it’s completely cold. I decorated it with some cookies made from the leftover pastry and dipped in melted chocolate. But it can also be decorated all around with whipped cream puffs.
We can serve the chocolate cheesecake at room temperature, for a creamy dessert, or even from the fridge, it will be more compact but melt in the mouth. However, consider that it does not need to be stored in the fridge unless it’s very hot.
The chocolate cheesecake with shortcrust pastry shell can be stored under a glass dome outside the fridge for a few days, if it’s too hot it can also be kept in the fridge. I recommend taking it out of the fridge shortly before serving to enjoy it at its best.
