Coffee Cheesecake You Have To Try

This extra creamy coffee cheesecake has an Oreo cookie crust, delicious espresso flavor, and a coffee-infused chocolate ganache on top. It’s a decadent dessert that’s perfect for coffee lovers.

Whenever I make cheesecake for a dinner party or gathering, I tend to eat the leftovers for breakfast. So with that in mind, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I combined the flavor of my morning coffee with creamy cheesecake.

The tanginess of the cream cheese goes perfectly with the bitterness of the coffee for a cheesecake recipe that’s not too sweet. The Oreo crust and chocolate topping make it a little extra decadent, plus chocolate and coffee go together perfectly.

Making the Coffee Cheesecake

To get started – you’ll make the Oreo cookie crust. It’s the standard crust recipe I use for so many cheesecakes made with crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter. You’ll crush the cookies (wafers and filling) in a food processor until they’re fine crumbs, and then mix with melted butter. The mixture gets pressed into the bottom and slightly up the sides to form a little ridge around the edges.

Then for the cheesecake filling, it’s very similar to making classic New York cheesecake – but with the addition of the coffee flavor. For our coffee flavor, we’re using instant coffee. It packs a punch without adding too much liquid to the batter (which would happen if just added brewed coffee).

You’ll dissolve the instant coffee granules in just a tiny bit of water. It doesn’t need to completely dissolve at this point – the coffee will dissolve as it’s beaten into the mixture. The water just helps to soften it.

Then you’ll make the cheesecake filling by beating the cream cheese, sugar and coffee until soft. Then in goes the sour cream (it makes the cheesecake velvety-smooth) and vanilla extract, and lastly the eggs. I always mix in the eggs last so that they don’t get over mixed.

Coffee Cheesecake Tips

• Make sure the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs are room temperature before getting started.
• Always use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese. This provides the best flavor and structure for the cheesecake
• After it’s done baking – cool the cheesecake super slowly (while it stays in the pan).
• Chilling the cheesecake is absolutely mandatory for the cheesecake to set and the flavors to come together. Do not skip this step.
• This cheesecake (like all my cheesecake recipes) is baked in a water bath. Do not fear the water bath. It keeps moisture into the cheesecake, gives it a silky smooth texture, and minimizes the chance of cheesecake cracks.
  • Before making the crust, wrap the outside the springform pan in aluminum foil at least 4 times. No seams should be showing.
  • You’ll place the unbaked cheesecake (with the springform pan wrapped in foil) in a large roasting pan.
  • Pour about 1/2 inch – 1 inch of boiling water into the roasting pan.
  • Then place the whole thing into the oven to bake.

After the cheesecake is baked, cooled and chilled – it’s time for the topping. I added a chocolate ganache that’s infused with a little extra coffee (coffee is optional). I also added coffee-infused whipped cream and some chocolate shavings. You can add all 3 toppings, none, or a combination of the three.

Note that I typically make the coffee cheesecake the night before I serve it. Then sometime during the day I’ll make the ganache and refrigerate it again. Then right before serving it, I add the whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Creamy coffee flavor, super smooth cheesecake, with the addition of a little chocolate too – this coffee cheesecake is a coffee lover’s dream. And if you want even more coffee-infused desserts, be sure to try:

• Mocha Brownies with Cafe Latte Frosting
• Irish Cream Brownies
• Mocha Cupcakes