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Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

This is the best raspberry apricot cheesecake with chocolate crust I've ever made, or tried. It's creamy, decadent and will excite your taste buds.

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Raspberries, Chocolate and Apricots are a winning combination! This is the best cheesecake I’ve ever made, or tried. #ForReals. It’s creamy, decadent and will excite your taste buds.

The cheesecake portion was modified from the brilliant Ina Garten’s Classic Cheesecake. I’ve made the base of this cheesecake so many times, I’ve lost count and it always wins a crowd. Make sure it’s completely chilled in the fridge before serving it. I like to make it the night before so it can chill completely in the fridge.

The raspberries, chocolate crust, apricot and chocolate shavings take it over the top. This one’s a keeper and if you’ve never made a cheesecake before; it’s easier than you think!

 Cheesecake Chocolate Crust Ingredients:

1 ½  cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12-14 graham crackers crackers or half of a 14 oz box)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) melted, unsalted butter

The Cheesecake:

2 ½ lb cream cheese (5 blocks – 8oz each) at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream
7 whole large eggs (at room temp)
1/2 Tbsp real vanilla extract

Decoration/topping:

Raspberries (about 1 1/4 cups)
Apricot preserves
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream with 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

What You Will Need:

9″ springform mold

Chocolate Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

How to Make the Chocolate Crust:

Preheat oven to 350˚F
1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 12 graham crackers with 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp cocoa until you have fine crumbs. Melt butter and pour it into the chocolate cookie mixture. Pulse a few more times or until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter.

2. Press cookie mixture evenly over the bottom of a 9″ springform mold going 1″ up the sides. Bake at 350˚ F for 8 min. Remove from oven and cool to room temp.

Chocolate Cheesecake 4

Chocolate Cheesecake 5

How to Make the Cheesecake Portion:

Preheat Oven to 450˚F.

1. Beat together 5 softened sticks cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium/high speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.

2. Turn mixer down to medium speed and add eggs, one by one letting them incorporate fully before adding the next egg. Scrape down the bowl well and continue mixing on medium speed another minute or until well blended.

Chocolate Cheesecake 6

3. Turn mixer down to low speed and add 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla. Mix until well incorporated. Pour the cheesecake mixture over your cookie crust and smooth out the top.

Chocolate Cheesecake 7

4. Place the middle oven rack one level lower so it is in the bottom 1/3rd of the oven (In my oven, it’s on the third shelf). Bake at 450˚F for 15 minutes then (without opening the oven door), reduce oven to 225˚F and continue baking another 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until the center is almost set (it should barely wiggle on top when you give the pan a little jolt).

Cool the cheesecake to room temperature then refrigerate until fully chilled; at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight. I love making my cheesecake the night before an event and decorate the next day. Cheesecakes are best served cold

Chocolate Cheesecake_-2

Tips for success:

I’ve had the best results when I did not open the oven door to look at the cheesecake in the baking process. About 90% of my cheesecakes are crack-free (I mean they don’t crack on top, not that I put crack in my cheesecake; just wanted to clarify that you shouldn’t put crack in your cake,.. never mind).

Anyways, occasionally I’ll still get a tiny crack but it doesn’t matter since you’ll be covering the top with the apricot preserves and raspberries. It will be delicious either way so even if you get a solid crack on top; it’s all good. #KeepCalmAndEatCheeseCake <— did I just hashtag my own blog? #HopelessHashtagger P.S. What’s your all-time best #hashtag ever?

How to Decorate the Top:

1. Warm up 3/4 cup of apricot preserves in a small saucepan just until it loosens up a little. You don’t want it to get hot. Let it cool down until it’s just warm then spread it over the top of your cheesecake leaving a 1-inch border.

2. Arrange Raspberries over the surface of the apricot preserves.

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

Chocolate Cheesecake 9

3. Beat 1/2 cup heavy cream together with 1 Tbsp sugar on high speed until stiff. I did this in my Blendtec blender. So quick & easy! Pipe the frosting around the top border of the cheesecake. I used a large closed-flower tip and just pulled straight up to make it look like carnations. I also sprinkled with shaved chocolate to pull it all together.

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust

4.86 from 35 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 -12

Chocolate Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs, about 12-14 graham crackers crackers or half of a 14 oz box
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 Tbsp 3/4 stick melted, unsalted butter

Ingredients for the Cheesecake:

  • 2 ½ lb cream cheese, 5 blocks – 8oz each at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 7 whole large eggs, at room temp
  • 1/2 Tbsp real vanilla extract

Decoration/topping:

  • Raspberries
  • Apricot preserves
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream with 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

How to Make the Chocolate Crust: Preheat oven to 350˚F

  • In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 10 graham crackers with 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp cocoa until you have fine crumbs. Melt butter and pour it into the chocolate cookie mixture. Pulse a few more times or until crumbs are evenly moistened.
  • *Press cookie mixture evenly over the bottom of a 9" springform mold going 1" up the sides. Bake at 350˚F for 8 min. Remove from oven and cool to room temp.

How to Make the Cheesecake Portion: Preheat Oven to 450˚F.

  • Beat together 5 softened sticks cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium/high speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through.
  • Turn mixer down to medium speed and add eggs, one by one letting them incorporate fully before adding the next egg. Scrape down the bowl well and continue mixing on medium speed another minute or until well blended.
  • Turn mixer down to low speed and add 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla. Mix until well incorporated. Pour the cheesecake mixture over your cookie crust.**
  • Place the middle oven rack one level lower so it is in the bottom 1/3rd of the oven (In my oven, it's on the third shelf). Bake at 450˚F for 15 minutes then (without opening the oven door), reduce oven to 225˚F and continue baking another 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until the center is almost set (it should barely wiggle on top when you give the pan a little jolt). Cool cheesecake to room temp then refrigerate until fully chilled; at least 4 hours or overnight.

How to Decorate the Top:

  • Warm up 3/4 cup of apricot preserves in a small saucepan just until it loosens up a little. You don't want it to get hot. Let it cool down until it's just warm then spread it over the top of your cheesecake leaving a 1-inch border.
  • Arrange Raspberries over the surface of the apricot preserves.
  • Beat 1/2 cup cream together with 1 Tbsp sugar on high speed until stiff. Pipe frosting around the top border of the cheesecake. I also sprinkled shaved chocolate over the frosting.

Notes

Tips for Success: 
  • I've had the best results when I did not open the oven door to look at the cheesecake in the baking process. About 90% of my cheesecakes are crack-free. Occasionally I'll still get a tiny crack but it doesn't matter since you'll be covering the top with the apricot preserves and raspberries. It will be delicious either way.
  • I love making my cheesecake the night before an event and decorating the next day. Cheesecakes are best served cold.
  • *If you want to remove the cake from the springform pan, you can place a ring of parchment paper on the bottom. 
  • **To prevent leaks from the springform pan while baking, wrap a piece of foil under the outside of the pan. 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $$
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

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Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust @NatashasKitchen

My top 2 holidays are: Christmas and Easter so this Sunday’s a-gonna-be a pretty big deal! We’re going to church for the first part of the day followed by lunch and treats for the littles at Mom’s. I bought two books for my son on Amazon to help teach him what Easter is all about:
1. The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)
2.God Gave Us Easter

I’m hoping I picked well! 🙂
How are you teaching your family about why Easter is such a BIG DEAL?
Do you have any fun traditions or plans for Sunday?

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the creator behind Natasha's Kitchen (established in 2009), and I share family-friendly, authentic recipes. I am a New York Times Best-Selling cookbook author and a trusted video personality in the culinary world. My husband, Vadim, and I run this blog together, ensuring every recipe we share is thoroughly tested and approved. Our mission is to provide you with delicious, reliable recipes you can count on. Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy you are here.

Read more posts by Natasha

4.86 from 35 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  • Joysha
    June 12, 2024

    Good morning Natasha, I’m going to make this for my father & brother for Father’s Day this weekend!! I’m excited! I noticed you did not mention a water bath? That has always been great success for no cracks. Please advise….

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      June 12, 2024

      Hi Joysha, I don’t use a water bath with this recipe. You could if you were more comfortable doing it that way, but I haven’t needed to.

      Reply

  • Ally
    May 23, 2022

    Hello Natasha, If I am making it in a 6 inch pan do I still bake it for the same amount of time? I already converted all the measurements.

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      May 23, 2022

      Hi Ally, I have not made this is a smaller pan to advise on the exact time. It will most likely get done sooner so keep an eye on it. It is ready when the center is almost set (it should barely wiggle on top when you give the pan a little jolt).

      Reply

  • Mila
    May 8, 2022

    Hi Natasha thank you so much for all your hard work! It is so appreciated! This is my go to website for all my recipes. This cheesecake is especially my husband’s and mine favorite, and also to our guests! One thing is I wish you would mention which oven mode you use for different things like convection or conventional..I am always second guessing myself. Today, I baked it on convection and it turned out great.. but just for other recipes, itd be great to know! Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 8, 2022

      Hello Mila, thank you for your kind words and good feedback. I’ll take note of it so I can remember mentioning that next time. I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try!

      Reply

  • Lolita Macalintal
    July 4, 2021

    Hello Natasha, we appreciated all your delicious recipes 🥰🥰🥰… thank you sooo muchhhh.. i was looking the video of your Raspberry Apricot Cheesecake I couldn’t find it☹️.. coz I prepared always your video than written the recipe… i loved to watch you while doing cooking Natasha🥰🥰🥰… stay safe with your love one’s

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      July 5, 2021

      Hello Lolita, thanks for your appreciation. I don’t have a video for this recipe yet but thanks for your suggestion. Hopefully, we can try that in the future.

      Reply

  • Tatiana Mitkova
    May 24, 2021

    After trying around 20 recipes from Natasha’s blog (all of them turned awesome from first try) I thought I was ready to make this cheesecake! And oh boy was I right! I did have a little struggle mixing cream cheese with sugar as I used regular blender with beaters attached. I was worried I would not be able to mix well. Also, I added 1 cup sugar instead 1.5 cups. To my liking it is the best original taste ever, so smooth and creamy. It did not have any cracks and looked exactly like on the picture!
    Thank you, Natasha, your recipes are so elegant and easy to follow!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      May 24, 2021

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Tatiana!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.

      Reply

  • Ana
    February 12, 2021

    I always use a 10 inch pan and it is always full. Idk how you fit it all into a 9 inch springform?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      February 12, 2021

      Hi Ana, springform pans are much taller than a standard baking pan.

      Reply

  • Marina
    January 2, 2021

    Amazing cheesecake for our New Year celebration! My family said this was the best cheesecake they ever tried! 🙂 Sadly it cracked in the middle, but I ‘saved’ it with decorations. Need to try and work on mastering baking without cracks :-). Thank you for this wonderful recipe!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      January 2, 2021

      I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Marina! Thank you for that great review! Happy New Year!

      Reply

  • Abigail
    December 31, 2020

    Hi Natasha! I need to take this cheesecake to a friends house.. so can I bake the cake, put it in the refrigerator and then put the decorations on the cake with the spring pan still on it? Or do I need to take the spring pan off after it comes out of the refrigerator??

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      December 31, 2020

      Hi Abigail, that may work. It is pretty sturdy and doesn’t need the springform once it cools.

      Reply

  • Hi
    December 30, 2020

    Hi! My pan is 9” wide, but it is only 2.75” tall. Do u think the cake will overflow out when baking??

    Reply

    • Natasha
      December 30, 2020

      Hi, the pan I bake my cheesecake is also 2.75″ tall and 9″ wide. That will work great.

      Reply

      • Hi!
        December 30, 2020

        Ok! Thank you so much Natasha!! Wish me luck, going to try this recipe out tomorrow!! ❤️

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          December 31, 2020

          You’re welcome!

          Reply

      • Hi!
        December 30, 2020

        Thank you so so so much!!! Going to try this recipient out tomorrow, wish me luck!! ❤️

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          December 31, 2020

          I hope you love this recipe!

          Reply

  • Janet
    August 14, 2020

    This is the second time I am making this scrumptiously delicious cheesecake. I like the fact that it does not require a water bath and it turns out perfectly.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      August 15, 2020

      Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Janet! I hope you love every recipe that you try.

      Reply

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