My family is a huge fan of cheesecake. When my in-laws visited us over spring break, I made them this chocolate cherry cheesecake.
Two weeks ago, it was spring break for our school district. We researched some potential road trips where we could socially distance from others yet still have a good time. Skiing was #1 on the list, so I looked up resorts in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Sadly, many resorts ended their season by late March, so they weren’t necessarily open in early April. A few were open, but the entire state of Vermont did not allow out of state visitors to come unless they quarantined.
Then I looked up places in Colorado and Utah, just for fun. Again, many ski resorts were closed for the season and/or couldn’t guarantee snow. We discussed driving to a beach town somewhere, but… nothing. So we ended up with a staycation instead, and my (fully vaccinated) in-laws came for a few days to visit.
While they were here, we completed some house projects like building new flower pots and fixing some broken lights outside. In addition, we bought a new basketball hoop for Addie, and it took 3 grown adults about 4 hours to put together. Although we got sweaty and hot, the end result was worth it.
I know that my in-laws are big fans of cheesecake, so I made sure to bake one for their visit. One flavor combination I had not tried yet was chocolate and cherry. This one was easy to assemble and did not require too much effort. I boxed up the leftovers and let my in-laws take them home.
Even though I am sad that we weren’t able to go somewhere, I was happy that my in-laws were able to visit. I should be receiving my final dose of the COVID vaccine at the end of April, so I should be all good by mid-May!
Husband’s rating: 3.5 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Chocolate cherry cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups chocolate wafer or chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake
- 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 4 ounces white baking chocolate melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries drained and quartered
Topping
- 3 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ ounce white baking chocolate
- ½ teaspoon shortening or butter you can substitute with oil or coconut oil
Instructions
Prepare the crust
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a standard springform pan with foil around the bottom and sides and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the chocolate cookie crumbs and melted butter until it resembles wet sand. Gently press it on the bottom and sides of your prepared springform pan. Bake in your preheated oven for 8 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven (do not turn off the oven).
Prepare the filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the eggs until combined. Then add in the vanilla and melted chocolate until just combined.
- Turn the mixer off and fold in the chopped cherries. You do not want to over mix the batter or else your cheesecake will have too much air and will be prone to cracking.
- Transfer the batter into your springform pan and pour it over the baked crust. Bake in your preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until the center has a slight jiggle to it. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature before covering and placing it in the refrigerator to cool overnight.
Make the topping
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chopped dark chocolate and butter. Mix until smooth. Drizzle over the top of the cooled cheesecake.
- In a separate microwave-safe bowl, melt the chopped white chocolate and shortening/oil/butter/coconut oil. Mix well and drizzle over the cheesecake.
- Let the topping set before slicing and serving. To cut even and clean slices, dip your knife in hot water and clean the knife after every cut.