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    Home » Recipes » Dessert » Cakes

    Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

    Published by Melissa on September 28, 2012 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 53 Comments

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    A layer of smooth, creamy cheesecake sandwiched between layers of rich, moist chocolate cake covered in a luscious cream cheese frosting. A spectacular Chocolate Cheesecake Cake for a fun celebration.

    Triple Layer Chocolate Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Frosting and colorful sprinkles

    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.

    Smash Cake for a First 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.

    Chocolate-Cheesecake-Cake-Collage

    My husband thought I should add a caramel layer on top of the cheesecake, but the melted caramel was too hard to cut through.

    Chocolate-Cheesecake-Cake-Slice-Barbara-Bakes

    The next time I made the cake for my granddaughter’s birthday, I used caramel ice cream topping and that worked out better. Although the cake absorbed most of it and the flavor was very subtle. You could just put frosting between the layers if you prefer. 

    Chocolate Layer Cake with colorful sprinkles

    Despite 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.

    My family loved it so much, my daughter asked me to make it again for my granddaughter’s first birthday. Be sure and check out the adorable Smash Cake I made to go with this Chocolate Cheesecake Cake. 

    Triple Layer Chocolate Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Frosting and colorful sprinkles
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    Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

    Cook Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Course: Cakes
    Keyword: baking, birthday cake, Chocolate, food, recipe
    Servings: 12 servings
    Author: Barbara Schieving
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    Ingredients

    Cheesecake layer

    • Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
    • ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • 2 large eggs at room temperature
    • ⅓ cup sour cream
    • ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

    Chocolate Cake Layers

    • 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1-¾ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa
    • 1-¼ teaspoons baking powder
    • 1-¼ teaspoons baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
    • ½ cup canola oil
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 cup boiling water

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted lightly to remove any lumps
    • Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
    • ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • 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
    Salted Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake Cake, Shugary Sweets
    Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake, Live, Love and Sugar

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    « Cinnamon Swirl Cream Cheese Mints
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    about us

    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. CJ at Food Stories

      September 29, 2012 at 9:25 am

      Cake & Cake? Wow is all I can say 🙂

      Reply
    2. Angie@Angie's Recipes

      September 29, 2012 at 5:17 am

      A cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of chocolate cakes…this is just scrumptious!

      Reply
    3. pavithra

      September 28, 2012 at 10:37 pm

      Wow what a scrumptious cake… I am way too tempted. Will try it soon, thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    4. Debbie

      September 28, 2012 at 8:37 pm

      This is so awesome! I am so impressed, the cake is beautiful, reading the ingredients I can just taste it, you are a ‘Baker’! I am looking forward to making this for my next dinner party and sharing that I found the recipe on your web site.
      Thank you so much for creating these beautiful taste sensations!
      Debbie from the Northwest

      Reply
      • Barbara

        September 28, 2012 at 10:06 pm

        Thanks Debbie! Stop back by and let me know how your guest liked the cake.

        Reply
    5. Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust

      September 28, 2012 at 7:43 pm

      I want to try this so bad. YUM! It’s gorgeous.

      Reply
    6. Coleens Recipes

      September 28, 2012 at 5:34 pm

      This has my entire families name written ALL OVER IT…I am definitely making this for our next family gathering. Rich chocolate cake AND cheesecake? I’m in heaven, thank you!!

      Reply
    7. angela@spinachtiger

      September 28, 2012 at 2:30 pm

      My birthday is Sunday. This can be my virtual cake. Splendid. Everything about it.

      Reply
    8. Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking}

      September 28, 2012 at 2:25 pm

      Beautiful and looks soooo yummy!

      Reply
    9. My Inner Chick

      September 28, 2012 at 2:05 pm

      D R O O L I N G !!!!!

      Reply
    10. Rachel @ Baked by Rachel

      September 28, 2012 at 11:49 am

      Looks incredible! Fantastic job.

      Reply
    11. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

      September 28, 2012 at 9:21 am

      This sounds so fabulous!

      Reply
    12. Deborah

      September 28, 2012 at 8:58 am

      I love cheesecake cakes! I did the red velvet version awhile ago and totally fell in love. I love this chocolate version and would love a big slice right now!

      Reply
    13. Kate | Food Babbles

      September 28, 2012 at 8:36 am

      This is lovely! I love all things chocolate and cheesecake is one of my favorite cakes of all time so this has my name written all over it!

      Reply
    14. Lori @ RecipeGirl

      September 28, 2012 at 8:20 am

      btw, here’s my version of the chocolate cheesecake cake- I did all chocolate! http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/05/chocolate-cheesecake-cake/

      Reply
      • Barbara

        October 02, 2012 at 7:34 am

        It looks fantastic too. Perfect for a chocoholic. Thanks!

        Reply
    15. Lori @ RecipeGirl

      September 28, 2012 at 8:19 am

      Yay!! Everyone always asks me how to adapt for high altitude. It must be so hard to figure it out!! Looks delicious!

      Reply
    16. Meghan

      September 28, 2012 at 8:12 am

      Deliciously decadent, just the way birthday cake should be! Looks beautiful with the white chocolate on top!

      Reply
      • Barbara

        September 28, 2012 at 8:14 am

        Thanks Meghan – I baked up a quick version of your lemon pull apart bread yesterday. So delicious! Will post on Monday.

        Reply
    17. Sandi

      September 28, 2012 at 8:06 am

      Decadent…always decadent here 🙂

      Reply
    18. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

      September 28, 2012 at 7:13 am

      This is SO mine. I haven’t seen this at our Cheesecake Factory but maybe I haven’t looked closely enough. I don’t need them with you around! Thanks heaps for this one.

      Reply
    19. Annamaria

      September 28, 2012 at 6:50 am

      The cake looks delicious. Your tips are so helpful and make the presentation look beautiful.

      Reply
    20. Rosa

      September 28, 2012 at 6:45 am

      Terrific! That cake looks sinfully good.

      Cheers,

      Rosa

      Reply
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