Easy Grated Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake Recipe
My Grated Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake is one of those cakes that instantly takes me back to my childhood. Simple, comforting, and never overly sweet, it’s the kind of dessert you enjoy for a snack between classes or with a cup of tea in the afternoon.
WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
It’s quick to make in a food processor and works beautifully with homemade farmer’s cheese or ricotta.
No need to fear the rolling pin. This cookie/cake dough is grated instead of rolled out.
If you prefer deserts that are just lightly sweet, this one is perfect!
It tasted even better the next day.
Great dessert to take along to a picnic or as school lunch, it holds up well.
INGREDIENTS
- Flour
- Dutch-Cocoa Powder
- Powdered sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Water/milk
- Lemon
LAYERED GRATED CHEESECAKE
This cake brings back so many childhood memories. My friend’s mom used to bake it all the time, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Years later, I still love it just as much, especially because it’s so effortless to make, and it’s an instant crowd pleaser.
The base is made from chocolate dough, grated and layered directly into the pan, then topped with a creamy farmer’s cheese filling and finished with another layer of grated chocolate dough.
- Chocolate dough with bloomed cocoa
- To intensify the chocolate flavor, dissolve Dutch cocoa in melted butter. This
- It’s important to cover the bowl with bloomed cocoa until it cools to room temperature.
- Covering it prevents the mixture from drying out thru evaporation.
- Cheese filling with meringue
- Filling, just like chocolate dough, can be prepared in a food processor.
- To give the farmer’s cheese filling a lighter texture, I fold in meringue.
- Gradually fold the meringue into the cheese filling, then spread it into a baking pan and bake the cheesecake.
GRATED VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE SUCCESS TIPS
Don’t skip this step.
It makes the chocolate flavor come through, and the dough tastes more flavorful and chocolatey.
I recommend using curd cheeses like farmer’s cheese or ricotta. They are similar in taste.
Farmer’s cheese isn’t always easy to find at the grocery store, but it’s super easy to make at home.
And while traditional ricotta, the store-bought kind, is made from whey, a byproduct of cheese making, homemade ‘ricotta’ is often prepared using the same recipe as farmer’s cheese.
When using watery ricotta, drain it through a fine mesh for a couple of hours.
If you don’t have an 8 to 9-inch round pan, use a square 8-inch pan instead. Cheesecake baked in a square pan will be slightly thinner and will bake more quickly. Slice the cake into bars for easy handling.
Store, baked, cooled cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-7 days.
MORE RECIPES WITH FARMER’S CHEESE
- Healthy Cheese Mousse
- Cheese Carrot Spread
- Cheese Balls with Toasted Breadcrumbs
- Dumplings with Cheese and Grilled Cherries
Grated Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake
Equipment
- (8-9 inch baking pan , or a square pan)
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided in half 113 grams
- 1/3 cup dutch-cocao powder 35 grams
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour 245 grams
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar 80 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt, pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk keep egg white for the filling
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp water
Cheese Layer
- 2 cups farmer's cheese/ricotta* 380 grams (*see notes)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar 90 grams
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, about a half of lemon
Instructions
Chocolate Dough
- Use an 8 to 9-inch tart pan, or a square pan. This cake works well cut into bars, too.
- Spray the pan with a nonstick spray.
- Melt half of the butter (1/4 cup, 57 grams) until hot. Into melted hot butter, sift Dutch cocoa powder (1/3 cup, 35 grams). Whisk well, till combined, cover well with food wrap, and allow to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Prepare the chocolate dough: Using the same food processor bowl from the cheese filling, pulse the flour (1¾ cups / 245 g), powdered sugar (2/3 cup / 80 g), baking powder (1 tsp), and salt (⅛ tsp) until combined. Add the remaining butter (¼ cup / 57 g) and process until evenly incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse sand. Whisk 1 egg yolk, Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon), and water (1 tablespoon), and pour it into the coarse mixture along with cooled bloomed cocoa powder. Pulse until combined. Gather cookie dough into a disk. Wrap well and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the Oven
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
Cheese Filling
- In a food processor, process farmer's cheese (2 cups, 380 grams), powdered sugar (3/4 cup, 90 grams), 2 egg yolks, Vanilla Extract (1/2 teaspoon), lemon zest, and lemon juice (half a lemon) until well combined.
- In a clean bowl, beat 2 egg whites with a few drops of lemon juice or a pinch of cream of tartar. Beat until firm peaks are formed. Don't overbeat. Gradually fold the meringue into the cheese filling.
Fill Cake Pan
- Grate half of the chocolate dough directly into the prepared pan, making sure to cover the bottom, without the bottom of the pan peeking through.
- Spread the cheese filling on the top of the grated dough in the pan.
- Grate the remaining chocolate dough over the cheese filling.
Bake
- Bake in the preheated oven at 350℉/180℃ for 25-30 minutes.
- Cool slightly and then carefully remove it from the pan. Serve at room temperature.
This is so cool! Grating the dough 🤔🤔will make the farmers cheese and gives this a go!!
This was one of my favorite childhood cakes! So good. ♥