Chocolate Chai Cheesecake
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Chocolate chai cheesecake is a creamy, dreamy dessert reminiscent of the spicy coffeehouse favorite.
My second day of college, our Resident Advisor, Katie, decided we should take a bonding trip to one of the nearby coffee shops. It was there that she introduced me to the wondrous chai latte. One sip and I was hooked, partially because the flavor reminded me so much of pumpkin pie – my absolute favorite thing in the entire world. You can get them all year, of course, but they automatically throw me back to autumn whenever I drink them.
This got the wheels turning. While I love pumpkin pie and butternut squash pie for the holidays, not everyone does. I wanted to come up with an alternative to Thanksgiving pie, but keep the warm spices that really go with the time of year. And of course, it would need chocolate.
I’ve gotten plenty of weird looks for asking for a pump of chocolate in my chai, but you should really try it. Or just make this chai cheesecake.
I first made this chai cheesecake for the FoodBuzz blogger competition. It’s hard to believe how long ago that was, but I’m happy to say I’m still friends with quite a lot of people I met during that time. At the same time, realizing that it’s been six years since blogging about a recipe, and knowing that wasn’t my first year blogging, kind of makes me feel old and decrepit in the blogging world.
If that wasn’t enough, the photos of my son in this post were taken when he was the age my younger son is now. Life, man.
You’ll notice that while this cheesecake has chai spices, it doesn’t use any black tea, the main component of chai. Usually when I use tea in cooking or baking, I steep the tea in whatever liquid goes in the recipe. In this case, there is no added milk or cream to the cheesecake filling, and I decided to skip the tea. The flavor on the cheesecake is still quite nice!
A few notes about this chai cheesecake. First, this does not use a water bath. I find water baths to be extremely fussy, and if you’re careful, you don’t need to use one. Second, make sure your cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature before making the filling. This will ensure a smooth batter.
Letting the cheesecake cool in the oven for about 15 minutes will help prevent cracks, as the filling will be able to come to room temperature more slowly instead of being “shocked” in your home’s air. Also, be sure to let it cool completely (both on the counter and then chilled in the refrigerator) before slicing.
To make clean slices, use a large sharp knife, not a pie cutter, and wipe it clean after each cut. You can pour on the ganache on top of the whole chai cheesecake or let your guests douse their slices themselves.
This will definitely feed a large crowd, so make sure to bake it for a special occasion, or at the very least offer it up to your coworkers and neighbors!
Cheesecake also freezes very well, whole or in slices. Once cooled, remove from the pan and wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator and serve.
Don’t forget to share with your child, especially if he has been rooting you on and watching patiently this entire time. Kid-tested and approved, even with “weird” spices! Chocolate always makes things winners.
If you enjoy chai spices, try my chai spritz cookies for snack time!
Chocolate Chai Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the crust
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
For the filling
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 32 ounces cream cheese, or neufchâtel, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix spices together in a small bowl.
- Cut butter into pieces, place in a large bowl, and melt in microwave. If graham crackers aren’t already crushed, put in a plastic bag and crush using your hand or a rolling pin. Combine crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until well-blended and crumbly. Then press into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan, pressing down firmly. Put pan on a baking sheet, and bake crust in oven for 10 minutes. Let cool, re-pressing crust down if desired (a flat-bottomed measuring cup with straight sides works well for this).
- Pour cream into a small saucepan and heat until just boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Whisk until completely melted and smooth. Pour half the chocolate mixture into the baked crust. Spread evenly across crust and set aside the rest for later.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one by one, then add in vanilla. When well combined and smooth, mix in the spices. Pour cream cheese mixture on top of chocolate and spread as evenly as possible.
- Bake on baking sheet for about 50 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you can gently shake the pan and it appears set. Turn off the oven and set the oven door ajar. Let cool in oven 15 minutes, then remove pan to a wire rack. Gently run a knife around edge of the springform ring and cool completely on the counter, then move to refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours to set.
- When ready to serve, take out the chocolate you saved. Pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so, and stir to make sure it has fully melted. Pour on top of the whole cheesecake, or drizzle on individual slices.
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition
This post was updated April 2016. Posterity photo above.
Look at those big blue eyes in that happy little face! YUM!
this looks SOOOO DAAANNNG GOOD !
I love the photo fun.
that sounds fabulous!!! Love the thumbs-up!
Fabulous Megan – and oooh – look at those baby blues! See you in Round 5 I hope (you will def be there because of this post!)
Ah! I LOVED your use of photos for this!! Very smart and artistic, and the last picture…well, the impression will stick for a long time, for sure You’re really really skilled! Good luck! 😀
Per your Twitter comment a bit back, being excited to make this cheesecake would be a-ok. More than that. Love the flavors, and clearly it’s a winner from the most discerning of palates!
Cheers,
*Heather*
Okay totally blown away by your technique with these photos. Excellent job! It had to have taken some time to get them just right. wow.
I hadn’t tasted chai flavors until last year and Fall is how I would describe them. I just may have to try this recipe. I’ll not be using the cream cheese, but I’m making it just the same. It’ll be a refrigerator cake instead.
Thanks for the inspiration.
God, this looks SO GOOD. I want to eat the page! And that last photo is possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen… 😉
Great job! You’ve got one of my votes for sure!
Jax x
Congrats Congrats going onto challenge #4!!! Must be exciting for you! Good luck and all the best. Happy Thanksgiving to you! You’ll be getting the next vote from me 🙂 Your awesome!
Have a happy thanksgiving!
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
Hmmmm Cheesecake.
Nice recipe and cute boy!!!
This chai cheesecake looks amazing! I will definitely make it as part of our holiday desserts. (can’t wait to get my jams!!:)
Lora
Oh, wow. This post is gorgeous. I love every single photo, and the way you arranged them, but the thumbs up at the end is beyond precious. GREAT job! ps I love cheesecake and this one looks too good
Thos “slice” of photos are such a visually creative way to handle this challenge. You get a lot of information (presented artistically) with out getting too much clutter. I love it. GREG
Megan, I love the way you edited and spliced your tutorial photos. Brilliant! As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday, I am really looking forward to trying this cheesecake.
OMG! Your baby is adorable, Your cheesecake looks gorgeous, what a great idea to add Chai. Good luck in this round.
What a great post (i’m obsessed with cheesecake)! And what a beautiful boy!!! You know you have my vote!
This sounds SO yummy! I love the combo of chocolate and chai!
This looks soooo good!
I recently bought a type of tea called Chocolatey Chai. It’s really, really good. So I bet this is just as tasty!
I agree with Greg about the photo slices. Gives a nice visual without my having to scroll 12 inches down a page!
First…my youngest daughter loves cheesecake, chai tea and chocolate; think this has to find a way into her tummy.
And second…no maybe should have been first; your kitchen slave labor is adorable. Me thinks that adorable grin belies your using him excessively!
I love all of the thin photos to save space–so lovely and artsy. 🙂
Absolutely lovely – interesting take with the narrow photos.
Those big blue eyes pretty much won my vote as I was doing my pre-scroll ritual. However, I am the biggest chocolate fan and the pumpkin spice latte’s are my favorite and I am now encouraged to try the chai latte. Your pictures were quite lovely, as everyone has been saying, I liked the slices of pictures, quite a lovely touch. Good luck!
Oh my goodness, thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! It looks delightful, and I do want to give-it-a-go this holiday season. The trouble is, SO many recipes looks scrumptious that it’s hard to pick just a few!
However I am especially a fan of chai, and I agree that chocolate chai is sinfully delicious! Do you know that the Oregon Train Chai company makes a chocolate chai mix? I’m sure chai + real chocolate must be better, but that brand is dang good.
Amanda, I haven’t seen the Oregon Chai chocolate variety, but I saw at Whole Foods the other day there is a brand that makes chai flavored hot chocolate. Maybe this is the hip new flavor combo?
Wow, what a fantastic post!! I also love Chai lattes- I bet this is totally delicious!!
Beautiful job on this tutorial. Love how you stacked your photos to make collages – much more fun than my standard four-by-four arrangements, for sure. 🙂 Plus, who can resist the combination of adorable kidlet plus sinful cheesecake? That alone deserves a vote.
I love anything sweet, but specially this type of pies….mmm, i´ll be preparing it this weekend!
and your son is beautiful1;)
you´ve got my vote
This looks amazing. I admit, I am kind of afraid of cheesecake and have never made it before. But yours looks delicious! Might have the guts to make some now.
Yummy cheesecake and cool photo composition! You definitely have my vote, as always! 🙂
Yum! I love Chai Lattes..and chocolate..and while pumpkin is ok, this looks like it might be my new favorite fall dessert!! Love the pic layout too.
I love how you combined the more “self explanatory” pics into little collages…. great idea! And the cake looks delicious!!
Great post!! I love the way you’ve laid out the pictures. Lovely job. Voted for you 🙂
You get my vote, one because I love cheese cake and chais, but also because I love the progression of photos, it didn’t tire me out looking at them. Good Luck!
-Gina-
Great Tutorial! The cheesecake looks amazing, and the chai flavor is so unexpected, but sounds incredible. Nicely done! I voted for you!
Good luck! Hope to see us both in round 5!!! =)
Man, that is genius. A chocolate LAYER?! I’m sure my daughter wouldn’t be able to keep her hands out of the filling.
I love cheesecake and I love chocolate, not a huge fan of chai, but this recipe has pushed me over the edge, especially if it’s kid approved. Your pictures are awesome too, especially the one of you mixing all the spices. Hope you get to move on to Round 5.
love how you did the cutaways of the steps! great post! good luck!
wonderful… hope you advance to the next round
Wow – delicious! Oh and I will definitely have to try a pump of chocolate in my chai next time. Good luck and hope to join you in the next round!
Fabulous story and post. Your photos are lovely and I LOVE how you sliced them. Just beautiful.
This looks amazing! I love chai and I love chocolate… Oh, and I love cheesecake, too. So what could be better??? Good luck!! 🙂
Cleverly done…great recipe….this is something I would love to make… VOTING!!!
This looks amazingly delicious- great job!
Looks yummy! I voted for you! Good luck!
Looks pretty and sounds delicious! Good luck in round 4!
I really love this dessert, and I LOVE chocolate too, thanks so much for the easy recipe, wish you good luck 🙂
Beautiful, detailed step-by-step tutorial. I really felt I could follow every step. And the pictures are the end are priceless. 🙂
Yum!! Gorgeous photos of your process! hope to see you in Round #5 – you’ve got my vote!
Love the picture-slicing, love the cheesecake and adore the thumbs up – great job!
look at those blue eyes! how do you get anything done at home with him around?!?!?
Mmmm, this looks delicious! Great photos 🙂
That cake looks scrumptious! What a nice way to use Chai! Looks like I’m gonna have to try it out for myself. One Vote form me!
The Young Foodie
http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/4/view/1353
That looks so yummy! I love that your son gave it a thumbs up too! Adorable! I also love the way you created your narrow picture steps. Very creative!
yum yum yum!
I’m a verified pumpkin pie addict myself and every year when I remember that my father doesn’t like it, I cry a little inside. I love a good chai too though and this cheesecake sounds delicious! Those pictures are awesome…I love the way you’ve laid them out! you’ve got my vote!
If you want to check out my entry, you can find it here: http://www.foodbuzz.com/project_food_blog/challenges/4/view/1293
Holy cow that looks amazing! What a great idea for a cheesecake. I’ll admit that I have about 30 cheesecake recipes and never even thought to do a chai one. Brilliant! Good luck!
Yum!! I voted for this first because it made my mouth water – how delicious does that cheesacke look??
All the best of luck for this round too.
Excellent post – you got my vote for this! Good luck 🙂 Feel free to hop over to leave a comment 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
wow delicious spices and chocolate! you got my vote 🙂
Want you to know I voted for you based solely on the picture for PFB#4. I wish I could eat a piece of this RIGHT NOW! Good luck!
Never had a chai latte with chocolate in it, It sounds like it’s well worth a strange look or three… or I could just make the cheesecake… or I could do both.
Good luck this week, voting for you!
Lick My Spoon
Okay, I was going to vote for you just from reading the title, is that bad? LOLOL The cute kid picture sealed the deal…Cheers girl! I’m going to make this this weekend! 😀
Very well done photography. I love the way the bowl progresses so it maintains its shape as much as possible. Must have been an incredible amount of work. Bravo on a job very, very well done.
Thank you for this easy to follow tutorial for such a luscious cheesecake!
That is a very lovely and delicious looking cheesecake. I have not made cheesecakes with spices before and you have peeked my curiosity! Great step to step photos.
Dear,
Thanks for your effort.
I like this recipe and all your photos.
I have a question: You said 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
What is the meaning of cloves?
Garlic Cloves or what?
Waiting your answer.
Thanks
I just told someone not to rush back my pan because I wouldnt be making another cheesecake any time soon… There went that plan. This looks awesome and I made some chai spice mix earlier this season that I need to use up.
OMG. I made this cheesecake using your recipe on Sunday…let’s just say that I single handedly ate the ENTIRE thing and it’s now only Thursday. IT. IS. THE. BOMB!!!!! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe. I can’t wait to make this for all my holiday parties this season.
I tried this cheesecake but found a problem with the quantities listed, you said 2 (16 ounces) packs cream cheese but only 2 eggs which is on most cheesecakes 1 egg per 8 ounces cheesecake, this led my cheesecake to not set right…..
Lovely recipe! I want to make it, but I notice that vanilla is referenced in the instructions, but is not on the list of ingredients. Can you give the quantity for the vanilla?
Loving the new photos! They’re gorgeous. So is this cheesecake. James would LOVE it. Chai is his jam.