Black Forest Cheesecake

Delicious cherry and chocolate no bake cheesecake, with a dark chocolate biscuit base, and a chocolate and cherry cheesecake filling, whipped cream and fresh cherries

Course Dessert

Cuisine European

Keyword Cheesecake

Prep Time 45

Setting time 4

Total Time 4 45

Servings

Calories 543kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the biscuit base

300 g Digestive biscuits crushed
135 g Butter or baking spread melted
100 g Dark chocolate chopped up

For the cheesecake filling

750 g Full fat cream cheese I use Philadelphia
125 g Icing sugar
40 g Cocoa powder
1 tsp Vanilla extract
300 ml Double cream
230 g Kirsch soaked cherries I used Opies, with the liquid drained and the cherries cut in half
2-3 tbsp Kirsch liquid optional, from the cherry jar

For the ganache topping

65 g Dark chocolate chopped up
65 ml Double cream

For decoration

200 ml Double cream
1 tbsp Icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
16 Fresh cherries
3-4 tbsp Dark chocolate curls

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

To make the base use a food processor to whizz up the biscuits into crumbs, if you don't have a food processor, bash the biscuits gently with a rolling pin in a bowl or freezer bag
Mix the melted butter into the biscuit crumbs, then stir in the chopped up dark chocolate pieces, press the mixture into the bottom of a 23cm springform tin. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to set
For the cheesecake filling use a food mixer with a whisk attachment or an electric hand whisk to mix together the cream cheese, icing sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until smooth with no lumps
Add the double cream and whisk until it is very thick and holds it's shape, You want it to get to a stage where you can scoop some up with your spatula or spoon and you have to give it a tap on the side of the bowl or slight flick of the wrist to get the mixture off the spoon. If it’s sloppy and slides right off the spoon without any encouragement needed, then you need to mix it more
Gently fold in the chopped up kirsch cherries, and the liquid, using a spatula or a spoon
Smooth the filling into the tin on top of the biscuit base, then put it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours, to set
Remove the cheesecake from the tin and put on your serving plate. Smooth the sides with a butter knife to create a neater finish if needed
Make the ganache by putting the ingredients into a bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds, stir well, then microwave in 10 second blasts, stirring between each one, until it is fully melted and smooth. Pour it over the cheesecake and smooth out if needed. Put the cheesecake back into the fridge for 30 minutes for the ganache to set
Whip up the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla, ideally using an electric whisk, and pipe swirls all around the edge of the cheesecake. Decorate with the fresh cherries and dark chocolate curls. To make the chocolate curls I used a vegetable peeler to peel curls from a bar of chocolate
Serve immediately, store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 2-3 days

Notes

It is really important to stick to the ingredients and use full fat cream cheese and double cream (a cream with a 48% fat content), both of these ingredients are essential to ensure the no bake cheesecake sets. If you want to make a low fat version, I suggest doing this in small dessert glasses or ramekins as they will not set well enough to be sliced.
I am based in the UK and I find that Philadelphia cream cheese is the thickest and best quality cream cheese to use for no bake cheesecakes. I have made many cheesecakes with supermarket own brand cream cheeses too, and they have worked great. If you can though, I think it is worth spending a little more for Philadelphia (and no they haven't paid me to say this!)
I like to use digestive biscuits (Graham crackers if you're in the US) for the base, but you could substitute if for another similar biscuit like Hobnobs.
You can use either butter or baking spread for the biscuit base, I find that baking spread makes the cheesecake easier to remove from the tin as it doesn't make the base set as solidly.
You can use any cocoa powder for the cheesecake, of course the better quality it is, the better flavour it will have. Do make sure you are using cocoa powder and not a hot chocolate powder.
You can find lots of answers to common no bake cheesecake questions on my How To Make A No Bake Cheesecake guide. If you've never made a no bake cheesecake before, I highly recommend reading through my guide first!
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

Nutrition