Baileys’ Cheesecake for a First Class Celebration
An easy-to-make creamy, light, chocolate mousse topping, over a deep, rich, chocolate cheesecake. Yum! I’ve also included how you can make this Gluten-Free.
Baileys’ Chocolate Cheesecake
This is chocolate cheesecake is worthy of a celebration. This is easy to make with creamy, light, chocolate mousse topping, over a deep, rich, chocolate cheesecake. You can make it ahead of the party and keep it chilled until just before serving. It also freezes well. Thaw it just 2 hours before the party. Serves 12 to 14.
This delicious dessert is a requested birthday favourite at our house. Veer from your traditional cake and try this instead. Make it a few days before the party and save the stress.
PrintChocolate Cheesecake Recipe
- Yield: 12 - 14 slices 1x
Description
This is easy to make with creamy, light, chocolate mousse topping, over a deep, rich, chocolate cheesecake.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. chocolate wafers
- 1 cup of hazelnuts
- ¼ cup of butter, melted
- 2 – 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup of organic sugar
- 4 eggs (large) or 6 bantam eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup of organic cocoa
- 6 oz. of high quality, semi-sweet, chocolate, melted (I used Callebalt Belgian chocolate)
- 2 cups of heavy cream, whipped
- ½ cup Baileys’ Irish Cream liqueur
- A round, 10-inch springform pan
Instructions
Chocolate Cheesecake Hazelnut Crumb Crust
- In a food processor grind hazelnuts and chocolate wafers until they are a crumb texture
- Add melted butter and whirl in the processor for 30 seconds, until well blended
- Prepare a round, 10-inch springform pan by buttering the bottom and sides
- Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom and ½ way up the sides of the pan
- Press firmly in the edge where the bottom joins the sides so that that part of the crust isn’t too thick
- Preheat oven to 350F
Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- In a separate bowl, using a stand mixer cream together sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy
- Scrape the sides of the bowl
- Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
- Add ½ cup of organic cocoa and beat until the mixture is smooth
- Pour into prepared crust
- Bake for 50 minutes until cream cheese filling is firm (The top of the cheesecake may crack but it will smooth out as the cheesecake cools)
- Remove cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack
- Refrigerate once the cheesecake is cool
Chocolate Mousse Topping
- Melt chocolate using a double boiler or a microwave with a special chocolate setting (Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate as it is melting or the chocolate may seize)
- Once the chocolate is melted, cool to lukewarm and still liquid (Reserve a few tbsp. of melted chocolate to drizzle on the finished cheesecake)
- In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks
- Add Bailey’s liqueur, in a slow stream, while the beater continues to whip the cream
- Add the cooled but melted chocolate a little at a time, while the beater continues to whip the cream
- Occasionally, stop the beater and scrape the sides of the bowl, to keep the chocolate from hardening on the sides of the bowl
- Whip the cream until light and fluffy and all the liqueur and chocolate have been incorporated into the Mousse
- Chill thoroughly for 30 to 60 minutes
- Spread over the top of the chilled cheesecake
- Drizzle (reserved) melted chocolate over the top as a garnish
- Refrigerate until ready to serve – at least one hour, to allow the cheesecake to set firmly
Notes
- This will keep for 2 days in the fridge if kept covered
- Wrap well and you can freeze for up to 2 months
- Alternatively, divide into 12 individual portions. Separate portions with parchment paper and reassemble them into cheesecake round. Wrap well and freeze. In this way, individual portions can be served without thawing the entire cheesecake.
- You can make it ahead of the party and keep it chilled until just before serving. Thaw it just 2 hours before the party.
Make this Gluten-Free
Note that the chocolate wafers are the only gluten in this cheesecake. If you have gluten-free family members, substitute 1 cup of almond flour (#ad), 2 tsp. organic honey, plus ¼ cup of organic cocoa for the chocolate wafers in this recipe. Add in the hazelnuts and melted butter and you won’t even notice the difference.
Ingredients:
1 pkg. chocolate wafers
1 cup of hazelnuts
¼ cup of butter, melted
2 – 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of organic sugar
4 eggs (large) or 6 bantam eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
½ cup of organic cocoa
6 oz. of high quality, semi-sweet, chocolate, melted (I used Callebalt Belgian chocolate)
2 cups of heavy cream, whipped
½ cup Baileys’ Irish Cream liqueur
Directions:
Chocolate Cheesecake hazelnut crumb crust
In a food processor grind hazelnuts and chocolate wafers until they are a crumb texture. Add melted butter and whirl in the processor for 30 seconds, until well blended. Prepare a round, 10-inch springform pan by buttering the bottom and sides. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom and ½ way up the sides of the pan. Press firmly in the edge where the bottom joins the sides so that that part of the crust isn’t too thick.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Chocolate Cheesecake filling
In a separate bowl, using a stand mixer cream together sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add ½ cup of organic cocoa and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 50 minutes until cream cheese filling is firm. The top of the cheesecake may crack but it will smooth out as the cheesecake cools. Remove cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate once the cheesecake is cool.
Chocolate Mousse Topping for the Chocolate Cheesecake
This topping is delicious and light and worthy of the brightest celebration. You could even just make this filling and serve it up in glass dessert dishes for a light dessert. On to the chocolate mousse topping.
Melt chocolate using a double boiler or a microwave with a special chocolate setting. Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate as it is melting or the chocolate may seize. Once the chocolate is melted cool to lukewarm, and still liquid. Reserve a few tbsp. of melted chocolate to drizzle on the finished cheesecake.
Once the chocolate is cooled, in a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. Add Bailey’s liqueur, in a slow stream, while the beater continues to whip the cream. Add the cooled but melted chocolate a little at a time, while the beater continues to whip the cream. Occasionally, stop the beater and scrape the sides of the bowl, to keep the chocolate from hardening on the sides of the bowl. Whip the cream until light and fluffy and all the liqueur and chocolate have been incorporated into the Mousse.
Chill thoroughly for 30 to 60 minutes.
Spread over the top of the chilled cheesecake. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top as a garnish. Refrigerate until ready to serve – at least one hour, to allow the cheesecake to set firmly. This will keep for 2 days in the fridge if kept covered. Or wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months.
Alternatively, divide into 12 individual portions. Separate portions with parchment paper and reassemble them into cheesecake round. Wrap well and freeze. In this way, individual portions can be served without thawing the entire cheesecake.
Make this gluten-free
Note that the chocolate wafers are the only gluten in this cheesecake. If you have gluten-free family members, substitute 1 cup of almond flour, 2 tsp. organic honey, plus ¼ cup of organic cocoa for the chocolate wafers in this recipe. Add in the hazelnuts and melted butter and you won’t even notice the difference.
Your turn:
Do you have a traditional birthday cake or do you like to try new recipes each year?
ErinElizabeth says
That looks incredibly good. I think I’m going to have to leave myself a reminder to make that for my dad’s birthday this year (not till December) as of all of us that calls out for him the most.
We don’t have a consistent cake preference here yet. I’m still pretty new to cake making so I have fun trying new combinations for each event but the two that have been repeated the most are chocolate/chocolate and buttermilk cake filled with lemon curd and frosted with toasted coconut buttercream.
Joybilee Farm says
Buttercream frosting is a classic here, too.