Your favorite childhood memory in form of a cheesecake
A crisp and thick graham cracker layer and the creamiest and richest cheesecake filling you can imagine topped with hot fudge sauce and roasted mini marshmallows.
How to make hot fudge sauce
Hot fudge sauce is pretty easy to make. There are a ton of different recipes but the one I show you only asks for 3 ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and butter. All you need to do is heat up the condensed milk with chocolate chips until they are melted and then mix in butter. It is pretty easy to make but let me warn you it is nowhere as stable and easy to use as real chocolate ganache. Hot fudge is more runny and will liquify in the fridge on the cheesecake. So it is best if you decorate you cake right before serving it.
Read here how to get a perfectly smooth cheesecake!
If you are using chocolate ganache you can prepare it easily and just add mini marshmallows when you are ready to serve the cake. I like to use a mini torch to roast marshmallows but the broiler of a gas oven works just as good. It might takes a bit longer in the oven and you risk the chocolate to melt.
These are the cheesecake pans that I always use in my recipe videos: Springform pan and Removable bottom pan
A 8 inch springform pan is the traditional choice to make most cheesecake recipes. I usually use it for no bake cheesecakes. For baked cheesecakes I prefer the removable bottom pan. It has the advantage of fitting a water bath snuggly around it.
Smores Cheesecake
Ingredients:
32 oz (910 g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
4 tbsp flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
For the Graham cracker crust:
1 1/2 cups (180 g) graham cracker crumbs (14 crackers)
4 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup (60 g) chocolate chips
3/4 cup (22 g) mini marshmallows
For the hot fudge sauce:
7 oz (207 g) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (60 g) chocolate chips
1 tbsp butter
alternatively chocolate ganache (see notes)
2 cups (90 g) mini marshmallows for decoration
Check out my caramel cheesecake tutorial while this one is in the making
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Crush up graham crackers with a food processor or by hand with a zip lock bag and rolling pin. Mix graham crumbs with melted butter and sugar. Press the mixture on the bottom and about a 1/4 inch up the sides of a spring form pan and bake it for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on top of the crust and put it back into the oven for 5 more minutes. Then take it out of the oven and let it come to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 °F.
Step 2:
For the cheesecake filling add softened cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in a big mixing bowl and mix it until smooth for about 4 minutes. Make sure to use a spatula and scrape down the bowl after each mixing. Mix in heavy cream, sour cream and eggs. Mix until smooth for about a minute on a low speed. Fill the cheesecake batter on top of the cooled graham crust. Smooth it with a spatula. To bake the cake cover the spring form pan in at least 3 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil or a silicon baking pan to make sure no water can enter. Place it in a slightly bigger baking pan and fill it 1/2 to 1 inch high with hot water. Bake the cake in this water bath at 325 °F for about 90 minutes until the top turns golden brown.
Step 3:
Turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and water bath and cut around the edge with a knife to prevent cracking. Let it come to room temperature for another 30 minutes to 2 hours (the longer the better for a slow cooling). Then let it cool over night or for at least 6 hours in the fridge.
Step 4:
To make the hot fudge sauce combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a big sauce pan. Heat it at medium heat and whisk it until the chocolate has melted completely. Remove from heat and stir in butter until smooth. Use while warm.
Step 5:
To decorate the cheesecake remove the cheesecake pan and place it on a cake stand or serving plate. Add about a cup of hot fudge sauce that should be almost at room temperature. Then fill up the whole surface of the cake with mini marshmallows and torch it until golden brown or use the broiler of a gas oven to get the brown color. Be careful not to melt the hot fudge sauce too much! Enjoy right away!
**PRO-TIPS**
Chocolate ganache is more stable and easier to work with than hot fudge. I had to scrape off the hot fudge drip and redo it with chocolate ganache because it melted completely. Also the hot fudge would develop some moisture underneath so it slides off the cheesecake once cut into slices. I have never seen that happening with chocolate ganache. I had some leftover fudge and it completely set at room temperature so the recipe was ok.
Don’t overbake the cheesecake as it will continue baking while cooling down. When the cake has a slightly jiggly texture in the center it is done baking.
To ensure a crack free cheesecake I recommend to read this cheesecake recipe.
Add more flavor with a whipped cream topping: To make the whipped cream use a tall measuring cup. Add heavy cream and powdered sugar. Whip it on low for about 30 seconds with a hand mixer using the whisk attachment. When it begins to thicken increase speed and whip until fluffy. Fill it in a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe some swirls of whipped cream and garnish with strawberry sauce immediately before serving.
