I think my obsession with chocolate is pretty apparent.
These triple chocolate cheesecake bars are for all the chocolate lovers out there. I certainly am a chocolate lover. Just a quick glance at my feed and blog and you would know that chocolate is my most favourite dessert/snack food and ingredient for baking. Anyone who knows me personally would know this fact and the extent to which I love chocolate.
So, these cheesecake bars really do check all the right boxes. A dark chocolate biscuit base, rich and creamy dark chocolate cheesecake, smooth chocolate ganache, crunchy cocoa nibs – honestly, what's not to love?
Not only do these triple chocolate cheesecake bars sound good, but I assure you that they taste every bit as good as it sounds. When you take a spoonful of the triple chocolate cheesecake bar, the smooth creaminess, the light crunch of the crust and cocoa nibs, the rich intensity of dark chocolate and the subtle tang of cream cheese will overwhelm your taste buds in the best way possible.
Just so you know, I made two whole 8-inch squares of cheesecake instead of one. I made an extra one so that I would have enough of it to give away to my graduating students, friends, B and his family, and my family. It was a lot of cheesecake. The good news is that these cheesecake bars freeze well, which means that making extra is very worth it because you would have cheesecake always in your freezer, ready to be consumed when a craving strikes. All you need to do is thaw the cheesecake in the fridge overnight (more instructions on freezing and thawing cheesecake below).
For me, not only do I love eating the desserts that I make, I always take pleasure in bring able to share what I make and to see others enjoying what I have made. It brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction when people enjoy what my hands have made. I was thrilled to know that the people who got to eat these cheesecake bars loved it so much.
If you do make these triple chocolate cheesecake bars, do let me know as I would love to see how you get on! I promise that you would love this recipe as much as I and many others do.
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Makes one 8-inch square cheesecake, cuts into 16 squares
Ingredients
For the cookie crust:
250 g Oreo cookies (including the filling)
50 g (1/4 cup) white granulated sugar or brown sugar
15 g (2 Tbs) dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
100 g (7 Tbs) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
170 g dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids)
455 g cream cheese, room temperature
100 g (1/2 cup) granulated white sugar
125 g (1/2 cup) full-fat greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 large eggs
For ganache:
150 g dark chocolate (60% to 70%, but not more than 70%)
150 g heavy whipping cream
To assemble:
A spoonful of cocoa nibs
Method
For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 160°C. Butter and line an 8-inch square cake pan. Leave some parchment hanging over the sides so that you can lift out the cheesecake later. Alternatively, use a pan that has a removable bottom.
In a food processor, pulse oreo cookies (oreo fillings included) until they become fine crumbs. Alternatively, use a pestle to grind the oreos into crumbs (certainly more painstaking, but I didn't have a food processor so that was what I did). You could also place the oreo cookies in a large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to bash them until they become crumbs.
Add sugar, cocoa powder and salt and pulse or stir to combine and evenly distributed with the oreo crumbs.
Add cool melted unsalted butter and pulse or stir until all the crumbs are coated with butter and resembles wet sand.
Press the crumbs into the bottom of the cake pan. Make sure that you pack the crumbs tightly.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and set it aside to cool a little.
For the cheesecake:
Melt dark chocolate in the microwave on medium in 30 second intervals, stirring until it has melted completely. Set aside to cool.
Beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy (but don't over-mix as you don't want to beat in too much air). Beat in sugar until the sugar is combined with the cream cheese.
Then, add greek yogurt, vanilla and salt and beat until smooth and combined.
Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth and well-combined. Remember to scrape down the bowl to ensure that everything is homogeneous.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan with the crust.
To level the cheesecake and get rid of air bubbles, lift up the pan and gently but firmly bang the pan on the counter/table a few times. Use a toothpick to gently pop any air bubbles that surface. It is important to get rid of air bubbles in the cheesecake batter so as to prevent the cheesecake from cracking after it bakes. (No water bath needed for this cheesecake!)
Place the cheesecake in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 35 to 40 min at 160°C. To check whether the cheesecake is done, look out for a few signs. Firstly, the top of the cheesecake will be set, which means that when you use your finger to gently press the top of the cheesecake, it should spring back slightly and there should not be any wet cheesecake batter sticking to your finger. Secondly, the cheesecake should jiggle slightly. It will continue to cook and it will fully set as it cools. Do not over-bake cheesecake as you will not get a creamy texture.
Once the cheesecake is done, switch off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 30 min (again, to prevent cracks due to a sudden change in temperature). Then, remove from the oven and set the cheesecake on the counter to let it cool in the pan.
Once the cheesecake is cool enough, transfer it to the fridge to chill at least 6 hours or overnight. At this point you can even freeze the cheesecake. More on that below.
Make the ganache and assemble:
Place chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave the chocolate and cream on medium in 30-second intervals, until the cream is warm and the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until the chocolate has melted and has emulsified with the cream. Do not let the ganache get too hot or else it might seperate/become grainy.
Set the ganache aside to cool at room temperature until it becomes a spreadable consistency. You could speed up the cooling process by placing the ganache in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Once the ganache is spreadable, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and the pan. Set it on a serving plate. Spoon dollops of ganache on the cheesecake and spread it across the top. Sprinkle with cocoa nibs. Cut into squares and serve cold.
Note: To freeze the whole cheesecake, once the cheesecake has chilled, remove the cheesecake from the pan. Wrap in cling wrap twice and aluminium foil twice. Take care that it is completely sealed. Freeze for up to 2 months. To eat, let the cheesecake thaw in the fridge overnight while it is still wrapped. To serve, carefully remove the cling wrap and foil. Set the cheesecake on a serving plate, decorate and slice it/ Enjoy your cheesecake bars! Consume within 5 days and store the extras in the fridge.