“I don’t really like having cheese, unless of course its followed by the word ‘cake’ “.
For the month of November, Krista & Nicole of “Two Cups of Sugar.” challenged us to make our own version of cheesecake crumble pie.
Yup, I hadn’t heard about one either.No rocket science here: a pie crust+baked cheesecake filling+crumble on top = cheesecake crumble pie!
Baked cheesecakes scare me . No… not the horrifying awesome amounts of cheese that goes into it or the way I can imagine the numbers on my weighing scale escalate as I relish a slice. Its just how finnicky and fussy most recipes seem to be , in order to get a crack free , perfectly textured cheesecake.
Which is why you havent seen a baked cheesecake on these pages yet. But when the Daring Bakers urge you to try a recipe , I knew I had to do away with my apprehensions. The recipe was explained really well.. plus with the crumble on top, I assumed I could get away with some aesthetic flaws!
Pie crust was another demon I was yet to tackle with confidence. I chose an all butter recipe with a slightly unconventional method and rolled with it (Sorry, pun so intended!) . Little trouble as you will see below. The very edge broke in parts after the baking, so i just removed all of it. I liked the look of the rimless pie better (and thats not the grapes being sour) . But that was more because of my pan than the crust, I reckon. Was relieved when it went well. After all, when a gal is Crazy for Crust, her way cant go wrong , can it ! The chocolate cheesecake filling is one which I came up with in my head after seeing several and the crumble is a chocolate version of the one provided by for the challenge.
When you take a bite and feel the crisp, flaky pie crust with an uber creamy yet slightly tangy chocolate filling and crunch of the lovely crumble, you know its all worth the effort !! Actually the effort isnt much , but the project is a bit time-intensive compared to some of the other bakes on here. And ofcourse , the worrying and the fretting and the peeking into the oven and the poking into the chilling cheesecake. All so worth it… this is one fantabulous tasting dessert!
But just in case you would rather have a plain cheesecake, the chocolate filling works awesomely on its own as well ! Use a 8 inch springform pan and crushed digestives / oreos as the base and skip the crumble. Look for directions below in the notes !
DELICIOUS ! So after an ardent half day’s prayers to the cheesecake and pie Gods above, I was so proud that this came out of my kitchen! Right up there ,among one of the better things I have baked. Its rich and decadent and the crumble sets it apart from the regular cheesecakes you’ ve eaten. You could obviously use any pie crust , any cheesecake filling and any crumble. Make your own mix-n-match crumble cheesecake pie!
Chocolate cheesecake crumble pie ! #daringbakers
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 113 grams or 1/2 cups unsalted butter , diced and chilled
- 160 grams or 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 - 4 tablespoons ice water
For the filling :
- 140 grams dark chocolate
- 450 grams cream cheese at , room temperature
- 150 grams or 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa unsweetened
- 2 Eggs
For the crumble topping:
- 110 grams all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa
- 75 grams oats
- 100 grams or 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 100 grams or 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 113 grams or 1/2 cups unsalted butter cold .
Instructions
- The crust first. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add cold, diced butter and mix in until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add 3 tablespoons of the ice cold water and combine.
- If you find your mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon of water. Combine until you have a smooth dough
- Roll out the dough ball on a well floured surface or silpat mat to about 1/4" thickness. The size should be a few inches larger than your pie plate (about 12" for a 9" pie plate)
- Place in pie plate ( I used a silicon tart pan) and press to fit.Cut any overhang .I used the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.
- Poke holes in the crust . This is so that it doesn't rise while baking blind( without filling). Chill in the fridge for atleast half an hour.
- Preheat oven to 220 C. Place parchment paper on the crust and an 8 inch pan on top. You can use baking beans or weights instead of the pan, if you have them.
- Bake at 220 C for 9 minutes, remove pan and bake for 3-4 minutes more.Cool completely.
- While pie crust is cooling, Preheat oven again to 180 C. Start preparing your crumble . Mix all dry ingredients (everything other than butter) well.
- Add butter and crumble together until its coarse and particles are pea sized. Keep the crumble aside in the refrigerator (so the butter remains cold).
- Now , prepare the cheesecake filling. Melt chocolate (double boiler or microwave) and cool until warm and liquid .
- Beat together cream cheese, sugar and cocoa until smooth.
- Add in and beat the eggs , one at a time
- Mix in the chocolate.
- Pour filling over cool crust and smoothen the top. Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the crumble on top and bake at 100 C for an hour. Keep in the oven for another half hour and chill 6- 8 hours.
Notes
- If you want to make a plain chocolate cheesecake , You can use an oreo or digestive cookie crust. Crush 20-24 cookies with 1/4 cup melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 8 inch round springiform pan, bake at 180 C or 350 F for about 8 minutes, Pour in the chocolate cheesecake filling (prepared as above) and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes and then at 100 C for 50-60 minutes until the cheesecake looks set . Chill for 6-8 hours .
- All the components , that is, pie crust , filling and crumble can be made ahead upto a day ahead and refrigerated .
- Complete cheesecake pie can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 3 days.
- I used a silicon tart pan because I didn't have a pie dish . Thats why the edges of my crust overcooked and were brittle. I just broke them off. But I could lift the entire tart off the pan , which i liked.