Fudgy No-Bake Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake

Rich and intensely chocolatey with a subtle flavor of Baileys Irish Cream, all make this a very special cheesecake. I made this cheesecake for my good friend, Jan Burke at our monthly canasta birthday luncheon celebration. Jan really likes chocolate so each year I try to find a recipe that is even more chocolatey than the last.

There are a few steps to putting this dessert together, but totally worth it for a special occasion. Because the Baileys flavor was subtle I thought we should have a little on the side.

You can make the crust with chocolate wafer cookies, chocolate graham crackers or I decided to use Walker’s shortbreads as I knew there was already a fair amount of chocolate in the cake. It turned out to be a nice contrast. I love these buttery, shortbread cookies and 1 package blended in the food processor made just 2 cups of crumbs, which was perfect with 3 Tbsp. melted butter to make the crust for an 8″ springform pan.

Lightly grease the sides and bottom of the pan with butter. Press the crumbs down firmly and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

The recipe calls for 16 oz. good quality chocolate, chopped. I used a combination of dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. As you can see I went a whisker over 16 oz. Do not use chocolate chips. They don’t melt as well as good quality chocolate and may seize up when adding the cream cheese.

Add the chocolate to a double boiler or melt in a heatproof saucepan over a pan of gently boiling water. Do not let the water come to a full, roiling boil. You want it to simmer just enough to melt the chocolate. This only takes a couple minutes. Stir occasionally.

Chips have a lower cocoa butter content and often swap out some of the expensive cocoa butter for other fats, waxes or vegetable oil. Good quality chocolate has a silky, shiny, glistening texture when melted.

Once melted, remove the bowl from the saucepan or double boiler and set aside to cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat 2 cups heavy cream until soft peaks form. Using the same electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 12 oz. cream cheese softened to room temperature. Beat until combined and smooth. Add the cooled chocolate and mix until blended. The mixture does get a little firm and crumbly, but comes together nicely once  you add the other ingredients.

Add the whipped cream to the chocolate cream cheese mixture and mix on low until incorporated. Next add 2 tsp. vanilla and 1/4 cup Baileys Irish cream. Beat on low until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure all ingredients are well blended.

Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, carefully remove the sides of the cake pan and smooth out top and sides.

You can top with whipped cream and strawberries or just whipped cream. I piped a simple ribbon of whipped cream along the top edge.

To serve, cut into slices with a warm, dry knife. The cheesecake is quite dense so this helps to slice through cleanly.

And here’s our birthday girl, again! Happy Birthday Jan!

The crazy canasta ladies gather for a toast. We have so much fun whether it’s a birthday celebration or regular game-day.

I am very fortunate to have such a lovely group of  friends in my life!

Thank you all for your love and support!