Mad About Food: Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake recipe

Who doesn’t love chocolate?! I know there are a few people who don’t and some people are even allergic to it, but the majority of people likes a good chocolate dessert, so you have to try this Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake.

Now I know your taste buds are excited to try this chocolaty, creamy cheesecake, but wait until you actually experience it. This cheesecake gets a little texture from a homemade cookie crunch, which just adds to the whole chocolate experience.

For this recipe, the bottom layer is graham crackers, but you can use chocolate cookie crumbs — without the cream filling — or whatever type of crust you prefer. Next is the rich chocolate cheesecake followed by a fluffy whipped cream topping with chocolate crunch. It’s enough to satisfy your every craving.

I’m a huge fan of a good chocolate cream pie, but I found myself wanting more depth to the chocolate layer, so I instantly thought of cream cheese. That was a great addition as a no bake dessert so I tried making a chocolate cheesecake and it was a hit. I used less whipped topping (strictly my preference) and added my homemade cookie crunch. The taste reminds me of my favorite ice cream bar as a kid.

They also have strawberry crunch ice cream bars, so of course, I tried my recipe for a traditional strawberry cheesecake, but I’m thinking of making the cheesecake pink and strawberry flavored. I’ve also made banana pudding flavored cheesecake and this chocolate crunch cheesecake.

My imagination takes me in all kinds of different directions, which is why most of my recipes are so versatile. You should be open to trying new things because you never know what yummy foods you could be depriving yourself of.

St. Patrick’s Day and Easter will be recognized soon and chocolate is always known to be at festivities for both, so you can decorate or top your Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake festively or add ingredients such as mint or Peeps.

Either way you slice it, this cheesecake will be a fun and delicious way to celebrate the holidays or to give as a get well soon gift, potluck dessert or whatever occasion — even if it’s as simple as your family’s after dinner dessert.

Now that I’ve got us all hungry for cheesecake, let’s roll up our sleeves and wash our hands and get started making our very own version of Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake.

Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake

For the crust

xx graham crackers or 24 chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos without the filling), finely crushed

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

For the cheesecake

10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

For the crunch topping

2 sticks of butter softened

1 box of chocolate instant pudding

1 box of vanilla instant pudding

2 cups of all-purpose flour separated into two bowls

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the cookie crumbs, sugar and butter together evenly. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of 9- inch spring-form pan.

Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Set aside while you make the cheesecake.

For the cheesecake: Melt the 10 ounces of chocolate in the microwave or using a double broiler until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Turn the mixer to low and add the sour cream and cocoa powder; mix well, scraping sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the melted chocolate and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until mixed. Don’t over mix. Pour the filling over crust and spread evenly.

Double wrap the bottom of the spring-form pan with foil, sealing it tightly to prevent water from getting into the pan.

Place the spring-form pan into a larger pan and pour very hot water into the pan, until it’s 3/4- inch deep, careful to make sure the water level does not come up higher than the foil.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the center is almost set. The center still will jiggle while the edges will be set.

Carefully run a knife around the rim of pan to loosen cake. Allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for at least an hour.

For the cookie crunch: Put the chocolate pudding mix in one of the bowls of flour along with one stick of butter and do the same with the vanilla pudding and second stick of butter in the second bowl of flour.

Then mix together pressing the butter into the dry ingredients or using a pastry cutter (I personally like to use my hands) until you have a clumpy soft dough.

Once you have mixed the chocolate and vanilla, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and loosely spread the dough crumbs on the cookie sheet. There is no need to press the crumbs down, but it won’t hurt anything if you do.

Bake crumbs at 350 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes but be sure not to over bake.

Let crumbs cool for 10 minutes and place them in a food processor to chop up, or you can place the crumbs into a Ziplock bag, squeeze all the air out before sealing it and then using a rolling pin, roll over the cookies until they look coarsely ground. You can use your hands if you feel anxious or need to release some aggression.

Refrigerate cheesecake and crumbs for at least an hour. Top cheesecake with whipped topping followed by the cookie crunch before serving.

Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake for Mad About Food column by Michelle Madden in northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, February 24, 2022. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Chocolate Crunch Cheesecake. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)