This chocolate orange cheesecake takes these two fabulous flavors and elevates them to a new level, with a buttery chocolate base and decadent chocolate orange filling.
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Chocolate and orange is one of those flavor combinations that's a match made in heaven. The richness of the chocolate is offset by the wonderful fresh tang of the orange.
This orange chocolate cheesecake recipe is a little different. For a start there's a buttery chocolate orange base made with chocolate-flavored cookies. I use chocolate ripple in Australia, but you could use Oreo crumbs or regular Oreos with the filling scraped out.
Second there's no orange essence or flavoring in this no-bake cheesecake. The fresh citrusy taste is achieved with flavor-packed orange zest from five oranges. Yes five. It sounds like a lot but it's totally worth it and gives a much better flavor than artificial essences in my opinion. Not sure what to do with those zested oranges? Try making a batch of my fresh and easy orange popsicles.
Finally it's top with some more crushed-up chocolate cookies and some orange marmalade for a pretty easy topping, no piping skills needed!
Hungry for more chocolate orange? Why not try my chocolate orange cupcakes, chocolate orange ice cream or chocolate covered orange peel? Delicious!
Ingredients
Dark chocolate: some dark chocolate provides a depth of chocolate flavor but you don't need much. If you are really not a fan you could replace it with semi-sweet or milk chocolate, but I recommend cutting down on the amount of sugar or you risk your cheesecake being overly sweet.
I find this cheesecake has a great orange flavor from the fresh oranges alone. However if you wanted to you could try replacing the dark chocolate with orange-flavored chocolate. If you are using milk chocolate I recommend reducing the amount of white sugar to make up for this.
Fresh oranges: you will need five oranges, not three as in the picture! The fresh orange taste in this cheesecake is achieved with orange zest. There's no need for orange essence or other flavorings. A touch of fresh orange juice is also used in the cream cheese filling. If you really want to use flavoring I recommend no more than a few drops of food-grade natural orange oil over orange flavoring, it will give better flavor.
Orange marmalade (optional): a little marmalade provides an easy pretty decoration and another orange element to this decadent no-bake cheesecake.
Chocolate flavored cookies: adds an extra chocolate element to this orange chocolate cheesecake. In Australia I use chocolate ripple cookies. You could also use Oreo crumbs or if you can't get hold of them regular Oreos with the filling scraped out. Or if you want to go the whole hog on homemade you could try making a batch of my homemade Oreos without the filling.
Too much chocolate (never!)? You can replace the chocolate-flavored cookies with graham cracker crumbs or digestive biscuits for a more regular no-bake cheesecake base to tone down the chocolate, but that's crazy talk!
Cream cheese: full fat cream cheese is best for this recipe for that classic creamy cheesecake taste. If you use light cream cheese it may not set properly.
Cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream which is similar.
Sugar (not pictured): white sugar is best in this recipe. You could use castor sugar if you prefer. I don't recommend using other types of sugar, they will be hard to dissolve and will compete with the flavors in this no-bake cheesecake.
Butter: because butter makes most things taste better. In this recipe it binds and sets the base.
How to make Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
To make the base
Grease and line your springform cheesecake pan. Break the chocolate cookies up and blitz them into crumbs in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor you can put them into a plastic bag on a chopping board, cover with a tea towel and bash (carefully) with a rolling pin, or even the base of a small saucepan. Zest two oranges and mix the zest into the cookie crumbs, taking care to break up any lumps.
Melt the butter in a microwave or in a pot on the stove. Add the butter to the crumbs and mix well. Tip into the prepared cake tin. Press down with the back of a spoon and chill for at least one hour, and up to twenty-four hours before filling. You want to press down firmly enough for the base to hold together but not To firmly to your base will be too hard.
Hot tip: do not skip chilling the base. If it's to hot when you add the filling it can make the filing weep, resulting in a soggy cheesecake base. If you are pressed for time on the day you can make the base the day before and store it in the fridge.
To make the filling
Chop the chocolate for the cheesecake filling into small pieces. Put in a microwave-proof bowl, preferably glass or ceramic and melt in the microwave in thirty seconds to one-minute bursts until melted. Stir and allow to cool but not set.
Zest the other three oranges, then run a knife over the zest several times to ensure it is really finely chopped for a smooth cheesecake filling.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
In a separate bowl add the orange juice, orange zest and sugar to the room temperature cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the cooled melted chocolate and beat in.
Hot tip: Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. This can take anywhere from thirty minutes to one hour depending on where you live. If your cream cheese is too cold it won't mix in properly and is one of the main causes of lumpy or grainy cheesecake.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix until well combined. Pour the cheesecake filling onto the prepared base and smooth down. The filling will be quite thick, so take are to smooth it down right to the edges and try to press out any bubbles in the mix. Chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
To make the topping blitz up two to three chocolate biscuits. Put the marmalade into a microwave-proof bowl and microwave for a few seconds until it just starts to thin. Do not overheat the marmalade or it will melt the top of the cheesecake. Spread the just melted marmalade over the top of the cheesecake, sprinkle the cookie crumbs around the edge and you're done!
How to serve
Pop onto a plate and slice with a large knife. To get nice clean slices you can dip a large sharp knife briefly in hot water, dry it off quickly with a tea towel and then very carefully slice your cheesecake. Remember to clean, re-dip and dry your knife between for perfectly smooth slices. It goes without saying the knife will be Hot. You need to put a tea towel over the end where you push your hand down to avoid burning your fingers on the hot metal.
How to store
This decadent no-bake cheesecake will store in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days, but I guarantee it won't last that long!
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
Looking for more yummy dessert recipes?
Why not try making
- No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
- Caramilk Cheesecake
- Biscoff Cheesecake
- San Sebastian Cheesecake (Basque burnt cheesecake)
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📋 Recipe
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Equipment
- Spring form cake tin, 7" x 2.5" (18cm x 6.5cm)
- Electric hand beaters or stand mixer
- Stick/immersion blender with chopping bowl attachment or food processor
Ingredients
Cheesecake base
- 2 & ⅓ cups (250gms) chocolate flavored cookies
- 1 stick/1/2 cup (115gms) unsalted butter
- zest of two small oranges
Cheesecake filling
- Just under half a block (1.6oz/45gms) good quality dark chocolate such as Lint or Ghirardelli
- zest of three small oranges
- 1 cup (250mls) thickened cream
- 2 x 8 ounce tubs (450gms total) full fat cream cheese
- 1 & ½ tablespoons freshly squeensed orange juice
- ⅓ cup (75gms) white sugar
Cheesecake topping (optional)
- 2 - 3 chocolate flavored cookies
- ¼ cup (85 gms) marmalade
Instructions
Cheesecake base
- Line the base and sides of a spring form tin with baking paper.
- Break up the cookies and blitz briefly in a food processor into crumbs.
- Zest two of oranges then finely chop as well to get a gone finely cut zest. Add the cookie crumbs and zest to a bowl and mix well, taking care to break up any lumps of zest.
- Melt the butter by cubing, adding to a microwave proof bowl and microwave for a minute or two.
- Pour the melted butter into the biscuits crumbs and mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
- Pour into lined spring form tin and press down at the bottom to form the base. Do not press to firmly or your base may become to hard.
- Chill in fridge for at least one hour and up to overnight.
Cheesecake filling
- Chop the chocolate for the cheesecake filling into small pieces. Put in a microwave proof bowl, preferable glass or ceramic and melt in the microwave in thirty second to one minute bursts until melted. Stir and allow to cool but not set.
- Zest the other three oranges, then finely chop the zest as well to ensure it is really finely chopped for a smooth cheesecake filling.
- Whip the cream untill soft peaks form.
- In a seperate bowl add the orange juice and zest and sugar to the room temperature cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the cooled melted chocolate to the cream cheese mix and beat in.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix until well mixed in.
- Tip the cheesecake filling onto the prepared base, taking care to press down the filling into the edges as you go to smooth down any bubbles. Chill in the fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
To decorate (optional)
- Break up two to three chocolate cookies and blitz in crumbs. Put the marmalade into a microwave-proof bowl and microwave for a few seconds until it just starts to thin
- Spread the just softened marmalade over the top of the cheesecake, sprinkle the cookie crumbs around the edge and you're done!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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Sarah
This looks so delicious! And my favourite flavour combo too!
Rachi
Love the combination of Orange and chocolate. This looks absolutely devine
Sylvie
I love the combination of chocolate and orange - now put them together inside a cheesecake... this is what I call heaven!
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Sylvie, yes I was almost a little sad I took the rest into the office instead of keeping it at home for us!