Coffee Cheesecake
Coffee cheesecake is packed full of coffee flavor. It's rich in flavor and incredibly creamy. To finish the coffee cheesecake, I added coffee whipped cream and chocolate covered espresso beans. The best baked cheesecake recipe for coffee lovers!
It's time to embrace your coffee love with this coffee cheesecake! Well that is, if you haven't already. I've been sort of coffee crazy lately with coffee cookies, coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream and coffee syrup so I can understand if you've given in already.
This baked cheesecake is packed full of coffee flavor. It's rich in flavor and incredibly creamy. To finish the coffee cheesecake, I added coffee whipped cream and chocolate covered espresso beans. My hubby and son aren't huge fans of coffee treats, which is okay with me. It's just more for my tummy, but I do share with my dad who can't get enough of these sort of desserts. He's the only person I know that can go through half a dozen coffee makers in a years time. The man lives off of coffee.
What kind of coffee should I use in the coffee cheesecake?
So, I didn't use strong brewed coffee. I find that in most recipes, it's too much liquid for the amount of coffee flavor I want. To fix that, I like to use instant coffee. It adds a lot less liquid and as much punchy flavor as you want. If you have a specific instant coffee that you prefer, use it.
Coffee Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
Coffee Cheesecake
- 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
- 2 teaspoons water
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup heavy cream
Coffee Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon cold water
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 12 chocolate covered espresso beans
coffee syrup garnish
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325. Spray the sides of the 9.5-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray. Wrap the sides of the pan with a strip of parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Stir until the butter coats all the crumbs.
- Firmly press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.
- Place in the oven and let bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you work on thecheesecake filling.
Cheesecake
- In a mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese and granulated sugar. Mix until completely incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again to avoid any lumps of cream cheese in your batter.
- In a small bowl, add in the instant coffee and water. Stir to combine.
- Add in the coffee mixture and then the eggs one at a time. Beat in each egg completely before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after incorporating each egg.
- Add in the sour cream and heavy cream. Mix until incorporated.
- Just before adding the cheesecake mixture, wrap the outside of the spring form pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty tin foil.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust.
- Place the springform pan in a slightly larger baking pan. Fill the outer pan with 1 inch of water. This will keep the cheesecake from cracking.
- Place in the oven at 325 degrees and let bake for 1 hour and 25 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.
Whipped Cream
- In a mixing bowl, add in the heavy cream. Beat until soft peaks form.
- In a small bowl, add in the instant coffee and water. Stir to combine.
- Add in the coffee mixture and powdered sugar. Continue to beat until it becomes thick and stiff peaks form.
- Add the whipped cream into a piping bag with a 1M tip. Pipe 8 swirls on top of the cheesecake.
- Add a chocolate covered espresso bean to each swirl.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. I suggest letting the cheesecake chill overnight.
- Slice the cheesecake and add a drizzle of coffee syrup.
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Hi… made this today. Looking forward to serving it tomorrow for Christmas. I did make the coffee syrup even though I considered not…. Boy am I glad I did. Also I wanted to use my ISI so used about 3 Tbsps of the coffee syrup to flavor the whipped cream plus a bit of powdered sugar. It’s soooo good. I can’t wait to serve it. Thanks for the recipe.
Can you add chocolate chips to the mix?
Yes! Chocolate chips would be a tasty addition. I’d recommend 1 cup of chocolate chips
I have been making cheesecakes for 20+ years. The water bath ensures even cooking in taller cheesecakes. To prevent cracking, when it’s done baking, crack the oven door and allow it to cool slowly. Do not put directly into the refrigerator. Quick cooling can, and most likely will, result is cracking. After the oven temperature has become almost ambient, remove the cheesecake from the oven and place on a cooling rack until just barely warm. Then refrigerate for 6-8 hours. After chilling. The best flavor comes from room temperature service.
I haven't tried this yet, though now that I've found it I definitely will be soon. My only question is if this cheesecake is very creamy? I prefer a really fluffy and airy cheesecake, so I was wondering what you thought about whipping the coffee and folding the whipped coffee into the batter at the end so that it would be more fluffy?
Very interesting idea Madi! That should make the cheesecake a little more airy. Give it a try and definitely let me know how it comes out! Enjoy.
I made this and it was a winner for the whole family! 3 of my family members drizzled caramel and/or chocolate over it. We all said this is our new favorite cheesecake!! Thank you for posting the recipe!
You're welcome Sandra! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
This is my husband's favorite cheesecake. I make it for him for his birthday. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Does the heavy cream need to be whipped first before adding it to the cake batter?
No, just pour it into the cheesecake.
I made this yesterday. Except I made them mini and with my immersion circulator. I set the temperature for 176F and cooked them in the water bath for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, then let them cool on the counter for about an hour and refrigerate overnight. This recipe made 15 4 oz mason jar sized cheesecakes.
When you say instant coffee, do you mean brewed or the grounds?
I mean coffee crystals or coffee powder that's been freeze-dried or spray-dried. I wouldn't recommend using coffee grounds or brewed coffee for this recipe.
Hi Miranda,
Do you recommend making the whipped cream for the top after the cheesecake has cooled overnight in the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Kelly! It will be fine if you make it a day ahead, but I personally would make it the next day after it’s been chilled!
Delicious and easy to make. This one is a keeper! I used Nescafe clasico dark roast instant coffee. Took about 2 packets for one tablespoon. I thought the whipped cream was too bitter at first, but as it sat it mellowed out to perfection 🙂 Thanks for an awesome recipe.