A BIG THANKS to Imperial Sugar for sponsoring #Choctoberfest. I was not compensated for this post but was provided with a very generous supply of sugar!
Chocolate + Ricotta Cheese = Cheesecake Heaven! This Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake is light & creamy with the perfect amount of chocolate sweetness.
Welcome to Choctoberfest! Choctoberfest is a week long, virtual event celebrating all things chocolate! Get your chocolate fix & tons of recipes for yearlong inspiration! Oh, and there’s an awesome giveaway with a chance to win a super sweet price package valued at $400+. Plus a fun game with prizes – Scary Scramble! Scroll to the end (before recipe) for more info and to enter! Scroll to the bottom of this page for tons of other chocolate recipes from all the other bloggers participating in this event!
I love chocolate, I love ricotta cheese and I love cheesecake – so combining these loves is a no brainer for me. Ricotta, with it’s light & creamy texture is a staple in many desserts – just think cannoli.
The hardest part of making this cheesecake is deciding what kind of chocolate to use. I prefer dark, high cacao chocolate. I enjoy it in desserts as well – but it doesn’t always play well with everyone’s taste buds.
Milk chocolate, for me, is out of the question. Semi-sweet – that would be the compromise – I think everyone can agree on the flavor.
Still, I opted for 74% Cacao Dark Chocolate. I found this to be the perfect amount of sweetness.
I’ll add that as much as I love chocolate, I am not a big fan of overly sweet chocolate desserts. I like to taste the chocolate – not just a sugar bomb with some chocolate thrown in for color & good measure. This cheesecake is the perfect level of sweetness.
For this cheesecake I decided to use chocolate graham crackers for the crust. You can use anything you’d like here. Chocolate cookies, regular graham crackers, ground nuts, crushed waffle ice cream cones – or you can skip the crust all together!
Another think you might notice here is that I lined my springform pan with parchment paper. I know recipes using a spring form don’t usually call for parchment paper, nor do you have to use it. From my experience, I can admit I always have a difficult time in not so much releasing the cake from the pan – but moving it to serve. Parchment paper makes this effortless. Lift from the pan and slide the cake onto your serving dish / cake stand. Not breaks, no crumbles or fumbles.
This Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake is super simple to mix-up & bake. With minimal effort you’ll have a light, creamy & absolutely delicious dessert!
I enjoy this Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake served plain with fresh berries. You can go many different directions here. You can go totally extra and top this with a ganache. Or you can serve with a berry sauce, chocolate sauce or whipped cream. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda
Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs about 6 whole sheets
- 1 tablespoon Imperial granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoon salted butter melted
- 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese MUST be whole-milk
- 1/2 cup Imperial granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix graham crackers crumbs & sugar. Stir in melted butter until combined.
- Press mixture evenly into lightly greased/springform pan. Bake for about 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack.*NOTE* I line the bottom of the springform pan with parchment paper, overhanging, before I clamp close the pan. I trim the excess on the outside before pressing crumbs in. Then I lightly spray the sides with non-stick cooking spray.
- For filling: Stir together ricotta cheese & sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Add in eggs, stir until combined.
- Stir in cocoa powder, cinnamon & vanilla until combined.
- Add in melted & slightly cooled chocolate, mix until mixture is of even color.
- Pour mixture into springform pan. Bake at 350° for 40 – 45 minutes. Top should be risen & look set.
- Cool cheesecake on wire rack for an 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Then move to fridge, uncovered. Once cheesecake is completely cooled you may serve or cover to serve later.
- Eat as is or serve with fresh berries, whipped cream, berry sauce, chocolate sauce – or top with a ganache.
A perfect dessert and very elegant looking. Will be looking at this dessert for my next dinner party.
Fabulously easy to make, much more delicious than that. I made a crust from crushed pecans, rgg white and sugar. Ill make this again and again.