Small-Batch Chocolate Cheesecake

This simple, delicious, Small Batch Chocolate Cheesecake with no crust has become my summer vice. I love it cold, topped with seasonal fruit, or just plain and perfect. The recipe makes a loaf-pan-sized dessert, perfect for just a few people. This recipe is gluten free and uses natural sweeteners.

I have to give a giant and resounding THANK YOU for all of the lovely, supportive comments from my last post. I wasn’t begging for sympathy by any means, I just needed to vent. But I had SO many private comments on Instagram and comments in different forms from women feeling like they were in my boat. Not to revel in others’ discomfort, but feeling a sense of camaraderie in moments like those is really important.

Next up, we need to talk about cheesecake. For some reason, cheesecake has been “the forgotten dessert” in my life for quite a few years now. It really took a tumble down the totem pole.

But after meeting Christina and eating small-batch cheesecake from her cookbook, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Sign me up!

This chocolate cheesecake is actually quite simple. I’ve made it twice now, both taking different approaches.

First, I made the cheesecake with a crust. I made the crust by pulsing some of my homemade gluten-free Sorghum Graham Crackers until they were quite fine; then mixed them with a touch of butter and coconut sugar. I baked the crust then filled it with chocolate cheesecake filling. The filling I made in my Vitamix. It was easy and quick and you could totally do that with this recipe.

I loved the cheesecake. I loved it so much, I almost thought having a crust wasn’t needed. And after running out of graham crackers before I could make batch two, I took it as a sign.

Batch two I made in my stand mixer. Both methods worked, the most important part was the cream cheese being at room temperature, no matter what. I poured this one into a loaf pan and topped it with the prettiest, sweetest plums and blueberries I could find.

Cutting into those plums made me so giddy. Seriously, could they be any more beautiful? You could truly use any fruit here, but choosing a vibrant, rich summer fruit is most important.

So, I think in explaining all of this to you, I want your biggest takeaways to be: room temperature cream cheese AND make it your own! Toppings? Sure! Crust? If you want! Enjoy!

Small-Batch Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe by Melissa @ Treats With A Twist
Adapted from Sweet and Simple by Christina Lane

INGREDIENTS
2 8oz cream cheese bars, room temp (full fat please)
1 large egg, room temp
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
½ cup coconut sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder*
pinch of Kosher salt
Optional toppings: fresh fruit, fresh mint, or whipped cream

METHOD
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and line a loaf pan with parchment, leaving an overhang of parchment to easily remove the cheesecake later. Butter the exposed sides in the pan too.
In your stand mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer OR in the basin of your blender), beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, 2 minutes. If your cream cheese isn’t truly room temperature, it will leave small chunks, so make sure it is at room temperature and you beat it well.
Next add the egg and beat until smooth. Then add the vanilla.
Melt your chocolate chips over a double-boiler or in the microwave and whisk until it is melted but not overly hot. Slowly drizzle the chocolate into the cream cheese mixer as you are mixing, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and get everything in there. Add the cocoa powder and pinch of salt and beat until smooth.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or silicone spatula. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is set and no longer sticky to the touch.
Let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack before serving. I prefer mine cold, so I pop mine in the fridge for a few hours. Top with berries if desired and enjoy!

NOTES:
Cooked cheesecake can be kept in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days, or well wrapped in the freezer for longer.
You read correctly, I’ve made this recipe in the blender before! I didn’t think it was very easy to get it blended evenly because batter can be trapped under the blades, so make sure you’re scraping under the blades every so often if you choose to go this direction.
*optional but I like the depth of flavor it adds to the chocolate

To Print this recipe, simply copy and paste the text into a new document on your computer, and hit print. It’s how we used to do it before widgets! Hooray!