The ULTIMATE chocolate cheesecake recipe – this decadent cheesecake has a delicious chocolate flavor, silky smooth texture, Oreo cookie crust and chocolate ganache on top. Learn all the tricks to making restaurant-quality chocolate cheesecake.

**This post was updated January 26, 2025 with new photos and step-by-step recipe tips**

The Best Chocolate Cheesecake

I’ve spent years perfecting, testing, and taste-testing this chocolate cheesecake recipe – and you can feel confident that this recipe ticks all the boxes.

• Crunchy Oreo cookie crust to support the filling
• Velvety smooth texture that’s luxuriously creamy and never grainy
• Rich, chocolate flavor that’s slightly tangy and not too sweet
• And glossy chocolate ganache on top.

It’s decadent, rich and over the top thanks to a triple dose of chocolate. It’s for true chocolate lovers and it’s the perfect variation on a classic New York cheesecake (in my humble opinion). Because cheesecake is so rich – it isn’t overly sweet – which is exactly how it should be.

The ingredients for making cheesecake can be pretty pricey. So to ensure your success I’ve included a ton of tips and tricks. Be sure to read carefully through the details before before getting started.

Tips for Making Chocolate Cheesecake

1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before getting started to ensure a smooth cheesecake consistency. Take the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before. This ensures that everything mixes together properly without any lumps.
2. Using sour cream in the chocolate cheesecake keeps the consistency extra smooth, minimizes the risk of a grainy texture, and makes our cheesecake thick without being too dense.
3. For this recipe – make sure the dark chocolate you use is around 70% cocoa. You can use up to 80% if you like more of a dark chocolate flavor but I wouldn’t use anything with a higher than 80%. Otherwise, your cheesecake will taste bitter.
4. Add in the eggs last, be very careful not to mix the batter too much. You’ll want to beat in the eggs until it’s combined, but do not go any further. As you beat the eggs it adds air to the batter. When the cheesecake bakes the air will cause it to rise. Then as it cools the air will be released and the cheesecake can sink and crack.
5. This recipe requires a springform pan. The sides aren’t high enough on a sandwich tin, and it is impossible to remove the cheesecake from the pan. If you don’t have a springform pan, I recommend making these chocolate cheesecake bars in a 9×13 inch pan.
6. Then we’re baking the cheesecake in a water bath. This acts as insurance for your cheesecake to reduce the chance of cracks and the chance of your cheesecake sinking. The cheesecake will bake slowly and gently because the water insulates it. It also keeps in moisture. Chocolate cheesecake is especially susceptible to drying out as it bakes, so the water bath is especially necessary.

Step by Step Recipe Rundown

To start, you’ll prepare the pan. I always recommend wrapping the outside of the springform pan with an oven bag first (the kind you’d use for cooking a turkey and tying the edge using the key lock tie. Then wrap with heavy duty foil at least 3 times so that the bottom and sides are covered, and all the seems are covered at least once. The combination of using an oven bag and foil is the most fool proof for avoiding leaks.

Then you’ll make the crust.

1. Pulse the Oreo cookies (wafers and filling) in a food processor until the cookies are fine crumbs. This can also be done by placing the cookies in a freezer bag and crushing with a rolling pin – although it will take a little more effort.
2. Mix the cookie crumbs with the melted butter.
3. Press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan, creating a slight lip around the edges.
4. Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. This step makes for a crunchier crust.

As the crust is baking, it’s time to make the cheesecake filling.

1. Chop the chocolate into very small pieces. I do not recommend using chocolate chips – as they do not melt as well. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or a double boiler. If using the microwave use 45-second intervals on medium power (NOT high power, which is often the default) and stir between each interval until smooth. If using a double boiler, ensure that the water is a gently simmering instead of rapidly boiling. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl with the chocolate.
2. In a large bowl, you’ll beat together the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch until smooth – this should take about 3-5 minutes. It’s important that you continuously turn off the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. This is to ensure that there are no lumps at the bottom.
3. Add in the sour cream and melted chocolate and mix together. Again, you want to continually turn off the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Otherwise, melted chocolate can stick there.

4. Whisk together the eggs and egg yolks in a small bowl. Mix the eggs into the batter a little at a time. I prefer to do this by hand with a wire whisk to avoid overmixing. Once you’ve added the eggs into the batter – it’s important that you don’t overmix as overmixing can lead to cracks.

5. Then you’ll pour the cheesecake batter over the crust and its ready to bake in the water bath.

How to Make a Water Bath

As mentioned earlier, before making the crust you’ll prepare the pan by wrapping it in an oven bag and then foil. When you’re ready to bake the cheesecake, you’ll place the springform pan (with the unbaked cheesecake) in the middle of a large roasting pan. Then pour about 1/2 – 1 inch of boiling water into the bottom of the roasting pan. The whole thing gets baked in the oven. You can see what it looks like below:

The cheesecake will bake for about an hour, or until the top looks almost set and it still has a wobble to it. If you give the pan a gentle nudge, it should wobble like pudding.

Chilling, Serving & Make Ahead Tips

One of the best things about this chocolate cheesecake (and any cheesecake for that matter) is that it’s the perfect dessert to make in advance. Chilling the cheesecake is necessary for it to properly set, and the flavor actually improves as it spends time in the fridge.

After baking, cool the cheesecake slowly until it reaches room temperature. Then remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan, cover the pan with aluminum foil, and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving. I typically make the cheesecake the night before I plan to serve it.

You can then make the chocolate ganache topping really any time after the cheesecake has chilled for at least 6 hours. It will need about 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up. Feel free to sprinkle a few chocolate shavings on top, dot the outside of the cheesecake with raspberries, add a dollop of whipped cream on each piece, or simply leave it plain. It’s up to you.

Creamy, decadent, and perfectly rich. By following these simple tips you’ll end up with the perfect chocolate cheesecake. The combination of crunchy cookie crust and velvety smooth cheesecake is impossible to resist and makes this recipe the ultimate chocolate cheesecake.

More Cheesecake Recipes to Love:

• No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
• Nutella Cheesecake
• Oreo Cheesecake
• Peanut Butter Cheesecake