Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

This Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake packs a punch of booze. The Baileys Irish Cream starts in the chocolate cheesecake filling and works it's way up to the ganache and finishes in the whipped cream. It's the perfect cheesecake for St. Patrick's Day. 



 

Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

It's been a while since I've made a chocolate cheesecake. The last one I posted was my triple chocolate cheesecake, which was a hit with everyone. I'm not sure what has taken me so long to make another, but here it is AND I have several more lined up too.

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I figured I better get in gear and start posting.

Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

To get started on making the Baileys chocolate cheesecake, you'll want to make sure you have the ingredients. There's nothing worse than thinking that you have everything needed for a recipe and finding out halfway through the recipe that you are missing something. That happens to me all. the. time. and I'm even writing up the recipe.

  • Oreo Cookies - off-brand chocolate sandwich cookies work great too! I recommend not using the double stuffed for the Oreo cookie crust.
  • butter - the perfect binding agent for the cookies and it tastes great too. Margarine would also work.
  • cream cheese - always make sure it's up to room temperature for a creamy cheesecake.
  • cocoa powder - adds a rich chocolate flavor without adding sugar and liquid into the recipe.
  • granulated sugar - a must for the recipe and shouldn't be substituted with powdered sugar.
  • semi-sweet baking chocolate - I always use baking chocolate, but chocolate chips will work as well.
  • eggs - always used large eggs unless a different size is specified. Room temperature eggs mix into recipes easily than cold eggs.
  • sour cream - use full fat sour cream unless a recipe says otherwise.
  • Baileys Irish Cream - I recommend the Original flavor for this recipe.

How to make Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

Prepare the crust and press it into the bottom of the 9-inch springform pan. Place into a preheated oven and bake for 13 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool.

To prepare the filling, start by mixing the cocoa powder and sugar together. This will prevent cocoa powder lumps. Next, beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and sugar, and beat until creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the Baileys Irish cream until incorporated. Pour that into the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Add in the sour cream and the eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth. Pour into the crust.

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I like to double wrap my pan with heavy duty tin foil to make sure no water gets into my cheesecake. I've been testing out a silicone cheesecake bath wrap that's working pretty great. (Review coming soon.) Bake the cheesecake until the edges are firm and the center jiggles like jello.

Oreo Cookie Crust

This Oreo Cookie Crust Recipe is so simple to make. It literally only requires two ingredients, cookies and butter.  You can use any kind of Oreo flavor for a cookie crust, but I recommend the original or chocolate flavored. Also, steer clear of the double stuffed cookies. I find that the double stuffed cookies make the crust a little too hard when it's baked and extra sweet.

Store brand cookies also work great for the recipe and are typically a little cheaper.

Add the cookies in a food processor and blend until they're just crumbs. I've tried crushing them in a storage bag with a rolling pin, but the filling sticks to the sides of the bag and it just ends up becoming a huge hassle. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are all coated.

Press into the springform pan. If there's enough, you can press it up the sides of the pan too. At this point, you can either freeze the crust for 10 to 15 minutes or bake it for 10 to 15 minutes. I typically bake mine because I never have extra room in my freezer.

Baileys Irish Cream Ganache Recipe

One of the finishing touches for this Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake is the Baileys Irish Cream ganache recipe. I like to make mine the next day after the cheesecake has baked and chilled overnight.

For the recipe, I used milk chocolate chips, heavy cream, and Baileys Irish Cream. You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips if you prefer. It's whatever your preference is.

I melted the chocolate chocolates and heavy cream in the microwave. I typically microwave for 1 minute, stir until the heavy cream is incorporated, then microwave for 30 seconds and stir until the chocolate is thick and creamy. Let the ganache cool before adding the Baileys Irish Cream. Once the ganache has cooled to room temperature, stir in the Baileys.

Pour the ganache on top of the cheesecake and place back into the fridge for another 30 minutes to an hour to firm up. It can be served immediately after the ganache is poured, but it will run down the sides of the slices of cheesecake.

Baileys Whipped Cream

For the Baileys whipped cream, I whipped up the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Then add in the powdered sugar and Baileys. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

Add the Baileys whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with the 1M tip and pipe some tall swirls on top of the cheesecake just before serving.

Baileys Desserts

slice of baileys chocolate cheesecake with fork on white plate

Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake

4.67 from 9 votes
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 16 minutes
Chill Time 8 hours
Total Time 10 hours 1 minute
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 slices
Calories 1144 kcal

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 20 oreo cookies
  • 5 tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake Filling

  • cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
  • 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate melted
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup full-fat sour cream
  • ½ cup Baileys Irish Cream

Ganache

  • ¾ cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • cup Baileys Irish Cream

Baileys Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the sides of the 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray. Wrap the sides of the pan with a strip of parchment paper.
  • In a food processor, add in the oreo cookies. Pulse until the oreo cookies are a fine crumb. You can also add the cookies into a storage bag and crush the cookies with a rolling pin.
  • Add the melted butter into the oreo cookie crumbs and pulse a couple of times until the butter is distributed.
  • Dump the cookie crumbs into the prepared pan. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan.
  • Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you work on the cheesecake filling.

Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

  • In a bowl, add in the cocoa powder and sugar. Stir to combine. This will prevent lumps of cocoa powder. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese. Beat using a hand mixer on medium until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the cocoa powder and sugar mixture in with the cream cheese. Continue to beat on medium until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the Baileys Irish Cream to the melted semi-sweet chocolate and stir until combined.
  • Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated.
  • Add in the sour cream and one of the eggs into the cream cheese mixture. Beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining eggs one at a time until all are incorporated and scrape the sides of the bowl again.
  • Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty tin foil. Place the cheesecake into a slightly bigger pan and fill with 1 inch of water.
  • Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the oreo cookie crust.
  • Place in the oven. Let the cheesecake bake for 1 hour 16 minutes or until done. To make sure the cheesecake is done, gently give it a wiggle. If it slightly jiggles in JUST the middle like jello, then it's done. If it jiggles all over, it needs to bake longer. Turn off the heat and crack the oven door slightly. Let it cool in the oven for 1 to 2 hours until it reaches room temperature and then place in the fridge to chill overnight.

Ganache

  • In a microwave-safe bowl, add in the chocolate chips, Baileys, and heavy cream. Microwave for 1 minute and stir until the heavy cream is incorporated. Microwave one more time for 30 seconds and stir until the ganache comes together and is smooth.
  • Pour the ganache on top of the chilled cheesecake.

Whipped Cream

  • In a large mixing bowl, add in the heavy cream. Beat on medium until soft peaks form.
  • Add in the powdered sugar and Baileys Irish Cream and beat until stiff peaks form.
  • Add the whipped cream in a piping bag fitted with the 1M tip.
  • Pipe swirls on the top of the chilled cheesecake to finish it off.
  • Slice and serve! Store in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 1144kcalCarbohydrates: 105gProtein: 15gFat: 73gSaturated Fat: 40gCholesterol: 260mgSodium: 505mgPotassium: 499mgFiber: 4gSugar: 85gVitamin A: 1980IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 199mgIron: 6mg

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

 

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15 Comments

  1. Would it be possible to marble the cake? By adding chocolate to a smaller amount using the same mixture to marble the cake? It was delicious, but many could not finish a small sliver as it was so rich

    1. Marbling it sounds like a great idea! I definitely think this would work well. It is a rich cake! A little slice goes a long way.

  2. I tried this recipe last week and it was LOVED so much that I made it again this evening. This is THE BEST chocolate cheesecake I have ever had. WAYYYYY better than the Cheesecake Factory. Sooo many people gave me a standing ovation for this cheesecake!! They were fighting over it when there were only 2 slices left. (lol) So, thank you for this wonderful recipe!!5 stars

  3. Thank you Miranda for the lovely recipe. I made it for our 31st wedding anniversary. We loved it! It was soooo good and easy to make. I rate it 5 stars and when I took it out of the oven it smelled so good, instead of putting it in the fridge for the next night (tonight, our actual anniversary) we ate some last night, still slightly warm. I made the ganache and poured it on, whipped up the whipped cream, piped it on, and when I cut the pieces the ganache ran down slightly on each piece giving it a nice dripping edge on each piece. It was so delicious. We had a piece tonight, cold from the fridge and it was delicious as well, but warmish was different and welcoming. I love it both ways. Thank you for sharing your recipe. We all loved it!!!5 stars

  4. I followed this recipe to an exact T, and have made other cheesecakes that came out perfectly. This one rose about a 1/2-1” about the springform pan with an rim around it like a muffin top. I have no idea why or how this happened. Hoping it doesnt collapse while cooling down.
    -instead of doing a regular water bath I have always just put a casserole dish full of water underneath it and it has always worked the same.

    1. Oh wow! That hasn't happened to me. Did you overmix the batter? That sometimes can make the cheesecake rise. It looks pretty set on top so I wouldn't think that it would sink. I would love to hear if it did or not.

  5. In my experience, baking the Oreo cookie crust by itself always makes it quite hard, due to baking it twice. Consequently it's difficult to break with a fork while eating the cheesecake. I've found that freezing it for about 20 minutes before adding the batter works better. The baking process alone will provide the right amount of its being done.

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