Chocolate Cheesecake With Graham Cracker Crunch

Recipe from the Saltry

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated Oct. 27, 2022

Chocolate Cheesecake With Graham Cracker Crunch
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
5(1,053)
Comments
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It’s worth tasting a few brands of graham crackers to find one you particularly like — preferably one with whole-wheat flour and a good dash of salt and honey or molasses. Try a health-food store or Whole Foods for organic and low-sugar brands. (Graham flour was devised in the 19th century as a healthful alternative to white flour.) Fresh, fluffy cream cheese with a minimum of fillers and stabilizers is also worth seeking out for this recipe. This recipe works fine with supermarket cream cheese and graham cracker crumbs (or dark chocolate cookie crumbs) in the crust, but the filling must be made with top-quality chocolate to get the full effect: milky cream cheese, tangy sour cream and the slight bitterness of chocolate playing against the sweet crunch of the crust. That’s how it’s been made since 1984 at the Saltry restaurant in Halibut Cove, off the southern Alaska coast. All of the ingredients (as well as the equipment, furniture, staff and customers) arrive by boat — except for the magnificent salmon, oysters, halibut, cod and mussels that are caught or harvested nearby. —Julia Moskin

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Ingredients

Yield:12 servings
  • 2cups/170 grams graham cracker crumbs
  • ½cup/100 grams light brown sugar
  • 4tablespoons/50 grams (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1cup/250 milliliters sour cream
  • 8ounces/250 grams best-quality semisweet chocolate, preferably Callebaut, broken into pieces
  • 1½pounds/700 grams cream cheese
  • 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
  • 3eggs

    • To Finish

    • 3 or 4graham crackers
    • 2tablespoons/25 grams unsalted butter
    • Chocolate ganache (optional; see recipe)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

570 calories; 39 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 40 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 359 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 250 degrees. Line a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter, and use fingers to mix well. Press firmly into prepared pan, evenly covering the bottom and about ½ inch up the sides. Refrigerate until ready to bake.

  3. Step 3

    In a microwave or the top of a double boiler, heat sour cream and chocolate together just until chocolate is melted. Mix until smooth.

  4. Step 4

    In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar together until smooth and fluffy, at least 2 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time. At low speed, gradually pour in chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.

  5. Step 5

    Pour filling over the crust in the pan and bake about 1½ hours, until top is set and dry but still jiggles in the center when you shake the pan.

  6. Step 6

    Set aside to cool and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days.

  7. Step 7

    For garnish, place graham crackers in a thick sealable plastic bag and crush, using your hands or a pot, into irregular crumbs. In a small skillet, melt butter until it foams. Add crumbs and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted and fragrant.

  8. Step 8

    When ready to serve, gently remove sides of springform pan. Serve chilled cheesecake in slices, sprinkled with crumbs and drizzled with chocolate ganache (if using).

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,053 user ratings
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Comments

Gensing

I made this for a friend's birthday dinner party. I also cooked in a bain marie. Excellent!

After cooling overnight, I added a thin layer of salted caramel, ganache, and then topped with walnuts, then refrigerated until set..

The ganache recipe produces an insane amount of ganache; i probably used a third of the recipe, if that. I recommend using only half the recipe and spreading just on the top, unless you want to use the extra for ice cream topping, cafe mocha or hot almond milk.

san

Can this be made omitting the crust?

Sarah Campbell

I followed the recipe to the letter and it was spectacular. I would not mess with the cooking time, or temp, as that can change the consistency from light and creamy to dense.

Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate yielded good results and is readily available. For graham crackers I went with Nabisco (in the red box) as they had no artificial flavors and used molasses.

I served it with a raspberry coulis. The garnish of graham crackers is key as the crunchy texture compliments the creaminess.

Chrissy

Made with gluten free graham crackers in the crust and it worked! Added zest from 1 orange to the filling before baking. Skipped the ganache and it was still plenty rich and delicious For the bake: needed an extra 10 mins or so, then I turned off the oven and left it in with the door cracked for another 20 mins before cooling to closer to room temp on the counter before the fridge and had no cracks. Topped with some pomegranate seeds for Christmas

Sue

This is a delicious and decadent dessert! My boyfriend loved it. I did not make the ganache, and I think the cheesecake tasted good without ganache. I used a little less than 1 cup sugar. It is plenty sweet without being overbearing. The cheesecake was jiggly in the center when removing it from the oven. I immediately put it into the fridge and cooled it for 20 hours. After taking it out of the fridge it was absolutely perfect - the crust cut well and stayed firmly adhered to the chocolate filling. I used a normal round 9” metal cake pan which I sprayed well with olive oil, and the cheesecake still removed easily.

Kim P.

To make this gluten free, I used the walnut crust from Marian Burros' Pumpkin Cheescake in Nut Crust recipe. Delicious! This recipe was not too difficult. I did set a pan of boiling water on the rack underneath to prevent cracking. Use the ganache; it's wonderful. If you can let it set overnight before serving, it is improved drastically by the wait time!

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Credits

Adapted from the Saltry, Halibut Cove, Alaska

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