Happy Birthday to Him: No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

My boyfriend's 21st birthday was just over a week ago. Considering that I bake sweets for him almost every week for when we're together on the weekends, I knew I'd have to really ramp up my efforts for his birthday.


I wanted to make something that incorporated his love of chocolate and brownies and also required the kind of effort befitting the birthday of someone so spectacular. Something that would come together in many stages over several days. Something that would be not just a mouthwatering dessert but also, almost, a symbol of how much I love him and how happy I am that he was born -- cheesy, I know. Anyway, I had my eye on a fudgey brownie cheesecake with a chocolate glaze -- like two desserts in one. Twice the effort, and, I figured, doubly symbolic of my appreciation.

My boyfriend, on the other hand, had other ideas, namely -- and very enthusiastically -- "No bake chocolate cheesecake!"


His mom has a recipe for no bake chocolate cheesecake that he absolutely loves. It's really simple -- cream cheese, sugar, Cool Whip, chocolate chips, and some melted chocolate mixed together and poured into a pre-baked graham cracker crust. The result doesn't taste like some fluffy cheesecake knockoff. In fact, it tastes just as rich and dense as a baked cheesecake, likely because of the melted chocolate. With the homemade graham cracker crust, it's just as impressive. In fact, if you made the cheesecake in a springform pan and drizzled some melted chocolate over the top of it, your guests would be hardpressed to guess that it takes about half an hour to put together. You can see how dense the cake is in this photo:


I amped up the chocolate flavour by making a homemade graham cracker crust with some cocoa powder added in for good measure, but forgot to include the chocolate chips. No matter, because the pie plate was nearly overflowing as-is.

I normally prefer real cheesecake to the no-bake variety, but this recipe -- when it comes to chocolate cheesecake, anyway -- has changed my mind.


No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
Serves 8

1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 packages (8 oz., 250 g.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter (softened)

2 c. frozen whipped topping (thawed)

1 - 9" graham cracker pie crust - or make your own and mix in about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
Chocolate chips (optional)

Melt the chocolate chips in a saucepan until smooth and set aside. This can also be accomplished using the microwave on low-med power, but watch carefully or the chocolate will burn.

On low speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and butter in a bowl until smooth. Blend in the melted chocolate and fold in the whipped topping (and optional chocolate chips). Spoon into graham crust, smooth top with a spatula, and cover and chill until firm.