Today I have for you a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Espresso Crust. I have been craving cheesecake and I remember eating chocolate chip cheesecake from way back in my early 20’s, so I thought I would make one for you this week. I baked it with a Dark Chocolate Espresso flavored crust, like a pie crust. I know pie crust is not the traditional “cheesecake crust”, but I needed something and didn’t want to spend $7 on a box of gluten free Oreos that don’t taste that good and make a crust out of them. So I thought outside the box and let me tell you, this is good. No, actually, it is DELICIOUS! Super easy to make too, and kids could easily make it, if they were shown how the first time.
First, you start with the crust. To get the espresso flavor in the crust, I mixed instant espresso powder in with the partially melted butter and then added it to my dry ingredients. That allowed the espresso flavor to incorporate well in the crust. The crust is just like making a pie crust. If you need instructions on how to roll out gluten free pie crust, please see my Pie Crust Tips, Click Here. The best way to make it is by using a fork and pressing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are all incorporated. Then get your hands in it and mix it in a little better and form a ball. Roll the dough between two pieces of wax paper lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Peel back the top of the wax paper and then put your hand gently under the bottom of the crust layer and gently flip over into desired pie pan.
Then back to the filling. I wanted a rich and creamy filling. Sorry dairy free folks, this recipe you will have to pass on. I do have many dairy free friends that have created delicious dairy free cheesecakes and you can check them out by visiting their blogs. A list of my gluten free blogger friends is listed above under the Gluten Free Community tab. So anyway, this filling is definitely rich and creamy, filled with cream cheese, organic sugar, sour cream and eggs.
Cracks in cheesecake. They are bound to happen and it does not make you a bad baker, and the cheesecake still tastes great. Here are some tips on eliminating the cracks. First, start with room temperature cream cheese, or beat the cream cheese on high speed for several minutes until soft and creamy. Then add sugar, vanilla and sour cream. Beat well. Scrape down sides of bowl, getting all the chunks of cheese stuck to the sides or bottom of bowl and mix again. Then on “LOW’ speed add one egg at a time until all incorporated. You don’t want to over mix the eggs as that adds air into your cheese mixture and then cracking. Then stir in the mini chocolate chip. If using regular size chocolate chips you will need more to have chocolate in every bite, see recommendations in recipe. Then carefully add to your crust. Top with extra chocolate chips. Place cheesecake on center rack in oven and bake for about 35 minutes. When you see the edges puff up and about 2-3 inches of the center not set, it is done. Turn oven off and leave in oven for 10-15 minutes, then crack open oven door for about 1/2 hour-45 minutes. This allows the cheesecake to finish setting up, but cool down at a slower rate, thus reducing cracks. Cracks are bound to happen though, and they happened on both of my cheesecakes I made. Professional bakers bake theirs in springform pans in a water bath and the temperature cools at a slow rate and they have fewer cracks, in fact they have all sorts of tricks, but I just want to eat cheesecake, how about you?
I used mini chocolate chips because then you get a bite of chocolate in every bite, and it looks prettier too! IMO. I took this cheesecake to our church picnic and the folks who didn’t get a piece were taking the crust pieces and scraping the pan. So I guess they liked it. iLet’s bake cheesecake now! See recipe below.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Espresso Crust
Recipe Type: Pies, Crisps & Cobblers
Author: Rachel Carlyle Edington – Gluten Free Mama
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Total time: 1 hour 5 mins
Serves: 12 pieces
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ¼ cups of Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
- ¼ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder or good quality cocoa
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- 1/3 cup organic sugar
- ½ cup butter, partially melted
- 2 tsp. instant espresso powder (optional)
- 1 egg white
- 2-3 Tbsp. cold water
- [br]
- [b]Cheesecake filling:[/b]
- 2- 8 oz. packages cream cheese
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 – 1 ½ cups of sour cream (works great both ways, more rich with the 1 ½ cups)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips for filling
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- [br]
- [b]Prepare Crust:[/b]
- In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoat, salt, xanthan gum and sugar. Mix together.
- Partially melt butter in microwave. Mix in instant espresso powder with melted butter.
- Add egg white and 2 Tbsp. of water.
- Using a fork, press in liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until all of the mixture in incorporated.
- Add extra Tbsp. of water if the dough appears dry, and press water into dough.
- With clean hands, knead dough into a nice dough ball.
- Lightly spray two pieces of wax paper with cooking spray.
- Place dough between wax paper and roll out the dough evenly.
- Gently peel back top layer of wax paper and then place and under bottom of crust and gently flip over into desired pie pan, pressing it into each edge. Gently peel back wax paper.
- Trim edges and make reparis as needed. Press dough on edge up into a triangle type style. Then flute the edges as desired. I take my side of my finger and in and angle press all the way around the rim of pie pan.
- [br]
- [b]Prepare filling. [/b]
- [br]
- Place room temperature cream cheese into mixer and beat on high speed until light, soft and creamy. Add vanilla, sugar and sour cream. Beat well until all ingredients are mixed in well and creamy.
- Scrape down sides of bowl, getting all the pieces of cream cheese off the sides and bottom and mix again.
- With mixer running on low speed, add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Mix on low speed until well mixed in. Do not over mix.
- Fold in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Carefully pour batter into pie shell.
- Use the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and evenly sprinkle over top of batter.
- Place in oven on center rack and bake for 35 minutes or until sides begin to puff up and 2-3 inches of the center doesnn’t look set.
- Turn off ove and leave cheesecake in oven for 10-15 minutes longer.
- Crack open oven door about 3-4 inches. Allow cheesecake to cool down in oven for about 30 minutes.
- Take out of oven and cool for about 1 hour. Then place in refrigerator for about 3 hours or overnight.
- Serve cold.
Notes
If using regualr size chocolate chips, use 1 cup in batter, and 1/2 cup sprinkled on top of batter.
We love to hear from our followers. Please leave comments below on how you liked the cheesecake or if you have any questions.