Delia Smith Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

Delia Smith’s chocolate cheesecake uses ricotta instead of cream cheese, which makes it lighter than every other chocolate cheesecake I have tried. Dark chocolate melted into the ricotta filling, gelatine to set it in the fridge, and whipped egg whites folded through for a mousse-like texture, all on a chocolate oatmeal biscuit base with dark chocolate curls on top.

Delia calls this chocolate ricotta cheesecake “not intensely in-your-face chocolatey, but more subtle,” and she is right. The slight acidity of the ricotta pulls the sweetness back just enough that you can eat a full slice without feeling overwhelmed, which is not something I can say about most chocolate cheesecake recipes.

More Cheesecake Recipes:

• Baileys Cheesecake
• Baked Vanilla Cheesecake
• No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

Why Ricotta and Not Cream Cheese?

Every other chocolate cheesecake recipe I have seen uses cream cheese, but Delia goes with ricotta and it changes the whole dessert. Cream cheese is dense and tangy, which gives you that heavy New York cheesecake texture. Ricotta is grainy and light, so when you fold in the whipped egg whites the filling becomes almost like a chocolate mousse that holds its shape.

The crème fraîche mixed in with the ricotta smooths out the grain and adds a slight tang that stops the chocolate from being one-dimensionally sweet. I would not swap the ricotta for cream cheese here because you would lose the airiness that makes this version special.

Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

For the base:

• 175g (6 oz) chocolate oatmeal biscuits (or chocolate digestives), crushed
• 50g (2 oz) butter, melted

For the filling:

• 150g (5 oz) dark chocolate (75% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
• 350g (12 oz) ricotta cheese, at room temperature
• 200ml (7 fl oz) half-fat crème fraîche, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 50g (2 oz) golden caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• 3 leaves gelatine
• 2 tablespoons milk

For the topping:

• 100g (4 oz) dark chocolate for curls
• Cocoa powder for dusting

How To Make Delia Smith Chocolate Cheesecake

1. Bake the base: Crush the biscuits, mix with melted butter, and press into the base of a greased 20cm (8 inch) loose-bottomed tin. Bake at 200°C (400°F/Gas 6) for 10 minutes, then cool.
2. Melt the chocolate: Break the 150g dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water and stir until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Mix the filling: Whisk the ricotta, crème fraîche, egg yolks, and sugar together until smooth and blended.
4. Dissolve the gelatine: Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes, then heat the milk until simmering, squeeze the water from the gelatine, and whisk it into the hot milk until dissolved.
5. Combine: Stir the gelatine milk and the cooled melted chocolate into the ricotta mixture until thoroughly blended.
6. Fold in the egg whites: Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, fold a spoonful into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest.
7. Set: Pour the filling over the cooled base, cover with cling film (plastic wrap), and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
8. Top with curls: Melt the remaining 100g chocolate, pour onto the back of a cold plate, chill until just set, then pull a cheese slicer or sharp knife across the surface to form curls. Pile the curls on top of the cheesecake and dust with cocoa powder.

How To Make the Chocolate Curls

This is the step that looks difficult but is actually just patience. Melt the chocolate, spread it thinly on the back of a cold plate, and chill it for about 45 minutes until it is firm but not rock hard. If you press the surface and it does not dent, it needs five more minutes at room temperature.

Pull a cheese slicer or the blade of a large knife towards you across the surface and the chocolate will curl up naturally. If it shatters instead of curling, it is too cold. If it smears, it is too warm. I got shavings the first time and curls the second, and Delia says shavings look just as good, so do not worry about perfection.

Does a White Chocolate Cheesecake Work?

Delia has a separate white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake that uses the same gelatine-set method but swaps the dark chocolate for white and adds fresh raspberries folded through the filling. The white chocolate version is sweeter and creamier with no cocoa bitterness, so it is a completely different mood.

If you want to try it, use 200g of good white chocolate instead of the dark, skip the cocoa dusting, and fold in a handful of raspberries before chilling. The acidity of the raspberries is what keeps the white chocolate cheesecake from being too sweet, so do not leave them out.

Will It Keep?

This cheesecake keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days covered, and the chocolate flavour deepens overnight as it settles into the ricotta. Make the curls fresh on the day you serve because they go dull and sticky after a few hours in the fridge.

You can freeze it without the curls for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and add fresh curls and a cocoa dusting before serving.

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 390 kcal
• Fat: 28g
• Carbohydrates: 26g
• Fibre: 2g
• Protein: 9g

Nutrition is estimated per serving based on 8 servings.

FAQs

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