Inn On The Twenty’s Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to spoil the incredible moms in your life, and Pastry Chef Jayne Inouye’s stunning Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake definitely gets the job done. Rolled in cocoa nibs, topped with a touch of gold, and paired with fresh berries, it’s a show‑stopping dessert made for someone who does it all. A sweet treat for the sweetest person.

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

Yields 6” round cheesecake or 6 single serve cheesecakes 

Ingredients for Crust:

118 g Ground Oreo crumbs
27 g White sugar
41 g Unsalted butter, melted 

Method for Crust:

1. Melt the butter and mix with the sugar and ground up Oreos.
2. Place one or more cheesecake rings on a parchment‑lined tray. Spoon the crust mixture into each ring, pressing it in evenly (or add the entire amount to a single 6-inch ring if you’re making one cake)
3. Once in your ring molds, press firmly till you have an even level base
4. Now bake at 325°F for 5 minutes and let cool completely.

Ingredients for Cheesecake Filling:

340 g Cream cheese, room temperature
280 g Nutella
75g White sugar 
1 g Salt
7 g Vanilla extract
90 g 35% Cream
100 g Eggs

Method for Cheesecake Filling:

1. Mix the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, Nutella, salt, and vanilla together until smooth and lump free, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mixing again (don’t over mix).
2. Slowly stream in the 35% cream and mix until smooth, again scraping down the sides as needed.
3. Add the eggs in one at a time, scraping down the bowl after every addition.
4. After your rings and crusts have cooled, spray WELL with non-stick spray.
5. Fill the sprayed rings right to the top with the batter.
6. Put into a 250°F oven for 15 minutes, turn and bake again for 15 minutes (more or less). You’re looking for the batter to evenly rise 1 cm above the ring/rings.
7. Once risen, pull from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes.
8. Once cooled, transfer the pan to the fridge and let the cheesecakes chill.
9. After one hour, the cheesecakes should still be ever so slightly warm still but NOT HOT, this will make it easier to demold them.
10. Demold the cheesecakes and put them back in the fridge to cool completely.

Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache:

100 g Dark chocolate
100 g Coconut milk, canned

Method for Chocolate Ganache:

1. Place the chocolate and coconut milk in a microwave‑safe bowl.
2. Microwave until melted (1-1½ minutes).
3. Stir and let cool for 5 minutes before topping cheesecakes.
4. Put a spoonful on each cheesecake and put the cheesecakes back in the fridge for the ganache to set (one hour).

Ingredients for White Chocolate Whipped Ganache:

75 g White chocolate
37 g 35% Cream #1
2 g Vanilla bean paste or extract 
2 g Butter
75 g 35% Cream #2

Method for White Chocolate Whipped Ganache:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt together everything but the 35% cream #2.
2. Heat for one minute in the microwave. Chill overnight in the fridge.
3. The next day, mix the 35% cream #2 and the ganache together until combined.
4. In a stainless-steel bowl, whisk until it looks like whipped cream, it should only take a minute or two.
5. Put in a container for use later. 

Ingredients for Cocoa Nib Crumble:

60 g Cocoa nibs
50 g White sugar
25 g All purpose flour
25 g Butter

Method for Cocoa Nib Crumble:

1. Mix all the ingredients together until homogeneous.
2. Pour onto a baking tray and bake at 350°F for 5 minutes, stir and bake for another 5 minutes.
3. Let cool at room temperature.

Optional:

Fresh berries (to decorate plate)
Chocolate flakes or shavings (to roll cheesecake in)
Gold flakes (for decoration)
Cocoa powder (for decoration)

Assembly/plating:

1. If you want that pretty edge lined with chocolate flakes, now’s the time to gently roll the cheesecake in the flakes or shavings.
2. Dust the tops with cocoa powder (this will cover any marks made from rolling).
3. If you prepared a 6-inch round, go ahead and cut it into six slices.
4. Place the cheesecakes on the plate (add gold flake to the tops if you wish).
5. Spoon about a tablespoon of the cocoa‑nib crumble onto the spot where you’ll be adding the whipped ganache.
6. Add the whipped ganache to the plate with a spoon, or pipe it for a more elegant look.
7. Top with fresh berries to complete the dessert. 

Tips:

Cheesecake not looking quite right? Let’s narrow down the possible causes:

1. Did it crack on the top, look toasty or maybe the texture is a bit grainy? Lower the baking time by 5 minutes and the temperature by 25 degrees, it’s over-baked.
2. Are the sides looking uneven or a bit jagged? Make sure to generously spray your ring mold, more than you think you need. Jagged edges can also be a sign that the cheesecake is slightly over-baked.
3. Did the cheesecakes rise too fast/before 30 minutes came around and when they set, they cracked & edges detached? You over mixed your filling by adding too much air, mix it less next time, it should be a pretty quick process.
4. Did the cheesecakes sink in the middle? They’re slightly under-baked, but likely still edible (I would much rather a cheesecake that’s under-baked than over baked as it’s still smooth and not grainy/dry like when its overbaked).
5. Not coming out of the rings nicely? Try to press the edges around the crust with your thumbs then with your fingers, press up from the bottom until the ring is fully off. If the crust seems really hard try baking the crust a bit less next time, it could be over-baked. If the crust is too soft then you may need to add a few more minutes to the bake time.
6. The ganache, whipped ganache and crumble are optional, you’ll still have a very delicious chocolate cheesecake without them, even just topping with a berry compote would be a great (simpler) touch!
7. Berry compote: in a pot add 500 grams of your choice berries, 50 grams of white sugar and a splash of lemon juice (this will keep the colour vibrant), simmer for 5 minutes or until desired thickness.