Chocolate Cheesecake Cake
A layer of smooth, creamy cheesecake sandwiched between layers of rich, moist chocolate cake covered in a luscious cream cheese frosting. A spectacular cake for a fun celebration.
Have you had cake with a cheesecake layer in the middle? If you haven’t you’ve been missing out. Cheesecake Factory makes a Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake that is one of their most popular. My daughter saw Recipe Girl’s gorgeous Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake and asked if I would make a chocolate cake version for my grandson’s birthday party.
I decided to use the Hershey’s Perfect Chocolate Cake that I adapted for high altitude and also adapted the cheesecake layer slightly for high altitude baking. I used the high altitude baking guide in Chocolate Snowball and the tips on Elevated Kitchen for the cheesecake layer.
My husband thought I should add a caramel layer on top of the cheesecake, but the caramel was too hard to cut through, so I’m omitting it from the recipe. I think next time I’d just drizzle a little caramel over the top or on the plate before serving. My daughter suggested using caramel ice cream topping.
Dispite the problems I had with the caramel layer, this cake was fantastic. One of those desserts where you just can’t help but say mmmmmm while you’re eating it.
Chocolate Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients:
Cheesecake layer
- Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Chocolate Cake Layers
- 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
- 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted lightly to remove any lumps
- Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Cheesecake layer
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until it’s smooth. Mix in sugar and salt and blend until it’s creamy, stopping to scrape down sides of the bowl several times.
Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Do not beat too much. Mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
Set a metal broiler tray on the bottom oven rack. Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the broiler tray. Place the springform pan in the oven on the rack above the boiler tray.
Bake the cheesecake for 45 – 55 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake and let it cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes, run a butter knife spatula around the edge to help prevent cracking. Cool for at least an hour, then place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely. This can be done in several hours- or overnight.
Cake layers
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; With a mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Carefully, stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Frosting
In a large mixing bowl, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla with an electric mixer until it’s smooth.
Assemble the cake
Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan. ( I had to let my springform pan warm up a bit before it would open. )Peel off the parchment. Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers. If the cheesecake layer turns out to be a slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
Frost the cake
Apply a crumb coat layer to the cake- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. Be sure to wipe off your spatula before you dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (you don’t want any crumbs to get into the bowl of frosting). When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to “set” the frosting.
Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the 2nd layer. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake. Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake too. Keep cake refrigerated.
I garnished the cake with shave white chocolate on top. I used a potato peeler and a bar of Ghirardelli White Chocolate.
More Cheesecake Cakes you might like:
Strawberry Cheesecake Cake, Recipe Girl
Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, Sprinkle Bakes
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cake, Bird on A Cake
Oreo Cheesecake Cake, Erin’s Food Files
Your cakes look and probably taste wonderful. Do you have any gluten-free recipes for your cakes? I was diagnosed with Celiac diasease ten years ago and I have to adhere to a gluten-free diet. Thank you for the eye-candy?
Thanks Betsey – I haven’t done very much gluten-free baking, but I have had good luck using King Arthur’s Gluten Free Baking Mix. King Arthur also has some gluten free recipes using their mix. http://search.kingarthurflour.com/search?asug=&view=grid&af=type%3Arecipes&w=gluten+free+all+purpose+baking+mix
Hi there!
This sounds amazing and a little bit like a cake my daughter had at Cheesecake Factory. I love the combo of cake and cheesecake in a single cake.
I do not know anything about high altitude baking though, nor how to convert a recipe from/to a high altitude recipe. I do not live at a high altitude, do you think I need to adjust the recipe accordingly?
Thanks so much!
Kate
Ps – loved today’s recipe too with the chocolate cake and coconut filling – love that combo. Thank you, thank you!
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