Making chocolate cherry cheesecake is a whole lot of hurry up and wait, as the components need to come up to room temperature between steps, but the final dessert is a deliciously decadent dessert that is worth all the time it takes to create.

“We’re in! What can I bring?” I texted my mom about Easter lunch.

“A dessert of some kind,” she wrote back. “Make something easy!!!!”

“Since when do I make complicated desserts?” I responded, punctuating it with a laughing emoji.

So, in other words, here’s a slightly complicated (but amazingly decadent) dessert I made for Easter lunch with my family.

This comes from “The First Year” blog. You can find the original post at https://thefirstyearblog.com/chocolate-cherry-cheesecake/. I added extra vanilla in my version and changed up the topping, as I’ll explain later.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Making chocolate cherry cheesecake is a whole lot of hurry up and wait, as the components need to come up to room temperature between steps, but the final dessert is a deliciously decadent dessert that is worth all the time it takes to create.

Course Dessert

Keyword cherry, chocolate, chocolate ganache, chocolate graham crackers, cream cheese, fresh cherries, graham cracker crust, Italian creamer, semisweet chocolate chips, vanilla

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
5 tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake Ingredients

3 8- ounce packages cream cheese use the full fat
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup Italian cream flavored coffee creamer use the full fat
3 eggs
1 cup cherries chopped (use fresh or thawed and drained frozen fruit)

Ganache Ingredients

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips I used semi-sweet

Topping Ingredients

about 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
about 1 cup fresh cherries

Instructions

Crust Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare an eight-inch springform pan by wrapping the bottom piece in aluminum foil and then assembling the pan. Wrap the outside in three more layers of foil, making sure it goes up along the outsides of the pan. Set it aside.
Find a nine-by-13-inch pan or something similar that your springform will fit into so you can use it to make a water bath. (I ended up using a large bowl.) You’ll need this later.
Make sure the graham crackers are crushed finely, and pour them into a bowl along with the melted butter, mixing well to coat all the crackers with the butter.
Press the crumbs into the bottom of your prepared pan, using a glass or measuring cup to compact them firmly.
Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly toasted.
Set the pan aside and let it come up to room temperature.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Cheesecake Directions

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on high speed for two to three minutes, making sure it is smooth and creamy.
Beat in the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Next, beat in the creamer, and finally, beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the mixture is completely smooth in between additions.
Finally, beat on high for one more minute, and then fold in the cherries.
Once the springform pan is cooled to room temperature, pour the cheesecake mixture into it.
Place the springform pan into your nine-by-13 pan and fill the nine-by-13 with water until it’s about one inch below the top of the tin foil on the springform pan.
Carefully transfer the whole contraption to your 325-degree oven and bake for one hour or until just the middle of the cheesecake wobbles when you gently shake the pan, but the edges are firm.
When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool for about an hour to an hour and one-half. Once it is at room temperature, remove it from the oven and water bath (you can toss the foil layers at this point) and put in the refrigerator for six hours or overnight to completely chill.

Ganache Directions

Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator, run a knife around the outside to loosen the edges from the springform, and remove the cheesecake from the pan.
Move it to your serving plate.
Add the chocolate chips to a heat safe bowl.
In a small pot, bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly to keep it from scalding. As soon as it boils, pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir to incorporate the chocolate and cream, and then let it sit for about five minutes to cool.
Using a spatula, spread the ganache over the top and sides of your cheesecake, trying to form an even layer. (It will harden as you go, so work quickly.)
Add chocolate chips and fresh cherries to the top for decoration. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

This got rave reviews from everyone. It was creamy and fruity and chocolatey and fabulous. I ended up creating a homemade cherry pie filling that I put on top instead of fresh cherries, since I was using up fruit from my freezer, and that was fabulous, too.

And, in my defense, it was really only complicated because of all the waiting time between steps for this recipe. Overall, it actually wasn’t too bad.

See, Mom? I can totally do simple.

This piece first appeared in print on April 4, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.