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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:
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
Ingredients
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
- 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.
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?
Hi!! This looks Super Good!! Im planning on making it now! I love the apricot rasberry topping!! SWEET!
But one concern, 7 eggs sounds like too much? Im worried it will taste eggy or end up being less smooth?! Have u tried this with less eggs?? I have never done a cheesecake with more than 4/5 eggs.
The texture is wonderful with 7 eggs and it has never seemed eggy to me. I’ve never heard that from my readers either. Does your recipe use the same amount of cream cheese?
Love the cheesecake. I’ve made the blueberry one. It was a big hit. The only problem I seem to run into is that my center does not cook through all the way. I can’t figure out where I’m going wrong. I follow all directions exactly. Even with a slightly soggy middle we’ve all enjoyed it but I would like to make the perfect cheesecake. Please help! Thank you :))
You might bake an extra 10-15 minutes. Not all ovens are the same. If it still seems too jiggly in the center when you give it a little jolt, then bake it longer. It won’t hurt the cheesecake 🙂
Made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving, one guy said that he is not a cheesecake person,but this one was the best he ever tried! I had no leftovers because people wanted to take some home too.
Awww that is so great! Music to my ears (or maybe to my eyes since I’m reading it is more appropriate; you get the idea ;)). Thanks Angelina!
When you cool it on the stove top, do you take off the springform pan then, or do you take it off after the chill time has elapsed?
Definitely after the chill time has elapsed. It needs time to set as it cools and the springform mold helps keep it’s shape and prevent cracks.
Thanks! I made it last night and left it in the pan as a precaution. How do you usually unmold them? I ended up using a frosting spatula to loosen the cake around the edges as it stuck, though it could be our freezer as the door doesn’t have a tight seal. Can wait to put the toppings on and devour it!
I usually have to use a knife or thin edged spatula and work my way around it until it is free from the sides of the pan. That is expected. Are you using the same toppings! I’m sure it will be gorgeous! 🙂
I used the same toppings from the recipe. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe!
Hi Natasha!I’m thinking of making a choc chip cheesecake. Could I just add choc chips to thus recipe or what are your thoughts? Thanks so much!
Without testing it myself, it’s really hard to say. I’ve never made a chocolate chip cheesecake so I don’t know if those would make the cake crack or change the consistency. Sorry I’m not very helpful with this question, but if you do test it, can you let me know how it worked out? 🙂
Hi Natasha! Thanks for ur recipe. I’ve made this cheesecake for my kids party, and it was gone before I’ve had time to try it, then a girl requested it for her wedding, I’ve made it and heard people around me complimenting it, I think it beat all the sweets that was there, and today someone called me for a recipe, I haven’t even tried it yet 🙂
That’s pretty funny that someone has already called you for the recipe and you didn’t even get a chance to taste it. Except you’re probably wishing you did :). Thank you so much for the great review! 🙂
I´m doing this tomorrow, thank you!!! It looks amazing. I laughed a lot at the crack comment :=). Hello from Argentina
Ha ha. I’m glad you enjoyed reading the post :). Thanks for writing in and I hope you love the cheesecake! 🙂 All the way from Argentina, eh? Hello from Idaho! 🙂
Yes, from Argentina!!! And I’m really happy to have found your post!!
So, I did the cheesecake and had a couple of things that didn’t work out quite right, perhaps you can help me… The flavor of the cheesecake was delicious, but it cracked quite a bit. I didn’t open the oven door at all. And the base was really crumbly, so when I served it almost no crust remained.What could have gone wrong? But it tasted great!
I haven’t had the issue with a crumbly crust. Did you use the same proportions of crumbs to butter and cocoa? You might try the original graham cracker crust that I posted with this recipe next time and see if you like that one better. It doesn’t have cocoa but it’s still wonderful: https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/02/04/favorite-cheesecake-easy-blueberry-sauce-video-tutorial/ It might help to watch the video tutorial that I have posted in this link. It’s the same cheesecake base.
I just baked my cheesecake for a friend’s 40th birthday party tonight. Can’t wait to try it with the toppings! If you bake it in a water bath, you get a lovely cheesecake. Wrap your pan in foil, then put in a bigger pan and pour in hot water. I made a recipe with 4 packages cream cheese, then baked 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. After baking, turn off oven, crack the door a bit, then leave in another hour. Makes a lovely cheesecake with a level top, not too brown and no cracks!
Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve heard good things about the water bath but haven’t actually tried it myself 🙂
Made this cheesecake yesterday, its really good. All my family liked it so much! But i baked about 2 hours on 220F …
Did you make sure to do the first baking step also? I’m so glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
So sorry if this is a repeat question – looking through all (most of) the comments for the answer was a fruitless endeavor.
Wondering what amount of pre-crumbled graham crackers to use for the crust… Thanks!
Just read the recipe again, 1.5 cups! Thanks!
I’m glad you found it! 🙂
Hi Natasha! me again:) I have been wondering for quite a while what does it make for a cheesecake to be so creamy and I think I finally got it! it’s the cream cheese!:) your cheesecake is marvelous and perfect!looking forward to trying this recipe on weekend! Thank you for sharing it and look forward to let you know how it went! Thank you and wish you a wonderful day:) Monica
I hope you absolutely love it! 🙂 Thanks Monica!
Thank you for this yummy recipe. It was Very easy to make.
Your were right….the chocolate on top just brings it wall together.
Hi Natasha,
I want to make this cheesecake for my mother’s birthday today. I wanted to ask if you recommend a water bath for this recipe. I am a pretty experienced baker, but never made a cheesecake before, so I am kind of anxious about it.
I use the Bake-Even Strip when I bake my cakes. Do you think that would prevent my cheesecake from raising to much and going over the edges? I got one shot at this, and really want it to come out perfect 😀
Please help!
I’ve never heard of the bake-even strip and I feel like an experienced baker too. 😉 What is it and where do I find one? I’ve never had to use a water bath for this recipe, just make sure not to open the oven while it is baking or you’re more likely to have a crack form. Even if you get a small crack, it is easily hidden by the preserves and berries 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I bought the bake-even strips from Walmart. You can also find them on wilton’s website. I did not use them for this recipe though. I followed it exactly and the results were way beyond my expectations. The cake came out perfect(no cracks; no overflowing) and it tasted heavenly! However, I did use a 10″ springform mold (just to be safe)D
My mom and the birthday party guests absolutely loved it!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious cheesecake recipe!
That’s so great! It’s music to my ears 🙂 I’m so happy you loved it!
I found your recipe after doing a food blog search for raspberry chocolate cheesecake. This will be perfect for my son’s 21st birthday celebration next week.
He said that whatever I made would be great 🙂 but I wanted something a little more grown up.
Glad to have found the recipe, and your lovely website.
Happy birthday to your son and I hope he loves the cheesecake!
Hi, Natasha,
I am making this cake right now and for some reason it is still not ready after soo much time in the oven… I don’t know what I did wrong, are you sure the temp is 225? or is the cake supposed to be springy on the inside?
btw thank you for such an amazing recipe!! 🙂
Did you make sure to start at 450˚F for 15 minutes and then turn it down? Continue baking until the center just barely has a jiggle in the center. Even if you baked it until it no longer jiggled, it would be ok.
Hi Natasha. Love this cake and today making it again. The first time I baked I got a crack that I hided under the the gem. I didn’t find in your description if after the owen it needs to be taken from pan right away or it should stay there for few hours. The first time I pull it after maybe 15 minutes and only after it got cracked. So today I want to leave it in for about few hours. Am I right or what do you do? It tasted amazing so I’ll be happy even if I would get crack again:) Also, the first time when I was taking it out from the owen, I think it was wiggling to much and maybe that’s why? Thanks Natasha a lot!
It could be because it was still too wiggly that it cracked the first time. You might give it an extra 10 minutes next time 🙂 Not all ovens are the same ;). How did your second one go? I’ve done it both ways; leave it in the oven or take it out and put it on the stove top to cool to room temp before refrigerating.
what if i baking this cheesecake for two hours already and its not brown outside(up) yet??? ;(
That’s unusual; I usually worry about it getting too brown and not the other way around. Did you start at the higher temp and then decrease it per instructions?
I’ve made your blueberry cheesecake many times before and it was my mom’s all-time favorite! Really hoping she likes this one as much as the blueberry one! I just put it into the oven and hoping it comes out as delicious as you made it look hehe 🙂
It’s the same filling, but the crust and toppings/decor are different. I think she’ll love it!
Natasha,
I made this cake for my 2 year old birthday party. It came out amazing – yummy and beautiful! (I followed the recipe exactly as is with one exception: I made the crust out of pecans)
Thank you for the wonderful work you do!!!
A pecan crust sounds wonderful! Yum!!! Happy birthday to your 2-yr old 🙂
I love cheesecakes but always thought they are too hard to make. A few months ago I found a recipe that sounded so good that had to try it. Well… the cheesecake was very tasty, but I spent two days cleaning my oven from burnt butter that was leaking from the spring pan and my house was stinking for a while. I would love to try your cheese cake recipes but don’t want to go through such experience again. Can you give an advice on how to avoid this problem? Should I change the spring pan? The recipe I used did not say to bake the crust by itself for 8 minutes. Does this step help to prevent butter from leaking?
By the way, since my cousin recommended your website to me about a month ago, I tried up to 20 of your recipes (main dishes, salads, desserts, soups, etc.) and my family loved EVERYTHING! Thank you! My culinary skills are definitely improving and there is more variety in what I cook now. I have a list of things I want to make waiting for me. =)
To be honest, I’ve never had problems with my springform leaking butter. I’ve always pre-baked my crust. If you are really concerned, it doesn’t hurt to put a piece of foil on the bottom rack. Does your springform pan seem loose to you? When you pour water into a clean springform pan, does it pour through the bottom? If it doesn’t seem to have much leak to it, there probably isn’t any reason to change the pan. P.S. I’m so happy you’re enjoying my blog and the recipes. Good things are meant to be shared. That’s why writing a cookbook one day will be hard for me. Keeping recipes a “secret” for any amount of time will be really hard on me. lol
I have to say this is a keeper! I did it for my son’s first birthday party and everyone loved it. Received many compliments. Thanks to you!
You’re so welcome, dear 🙂