S'mores Cheesecake

Course: Sweets

Cuisine: North American

Keyword: cheesecake, dessert, s'mores

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 1

cooling and chilling times: 6

Total Time: 7 25

Servings: servings

Calories: 571kcal

Author: Marta Rivera

Who needs campfires, stale graham crackers and the all-too-common singed marshmallows, when this is begging to be prepared and devoured?

Print Recipe

Equipment

9" springform pan

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups (242g) graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons (30g) sugar
1/2 stick (57g) unsalted butter melted

Cheesecake Filling

10 jumbo (200g) marshmallows or 10oz (284g bag of regular marshmallows)
4 8 ounce packages (904g) cream cheese room temperature
1 cup (203g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs room temperature
1/2 cup (115g) sour cream room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (19g) cornstarch

Chocolate Ganache Topping

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup (175g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional Toppings

marshmallows
graham cracker squares
milk chocolate bar squares
swiss meringue rosettes

Instructions

Mix and Bake the Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the graham crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. The mixture should hold together when squeezed in your hand.
If the crust oozes butter, add more graham crumbs to dry it out. If it falls apart in your hand add a little more melted butter until it holds its shape.
Dump the crust mixture into a 9" springform pan.
Use a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the bottom, and up the sides, of the pan to form a crust.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on the countertop. After the pan is cool enough to handle, wrap the bottom and sides in two layers of aluminum foil.
Set the pan aside.

Prepare the Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake

Arrange the marshmallows on a lightly-greased sheet pan.
You'll start toasting them just before mixing the eggs into the cheesecake batter.
In a large mixing bowl, with your mixer on high, blend the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and salt together until the cheese is light and fluffy.
Put the marshmallow pan into the oven (before you begin adding the eggs) to toast. The marshmallows will brown in about 5 minutes, so keep an eye on them.
Scrape down the mixing bowl and add the eggs to the cheese mixture, one at a time, blending them in on medium speed.
Blend the batter well and scrape down bowl and beaters after adding each egg.
Mix in the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract until the mix is smooth.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the toasted marshmallows until they are incorporated. If they climb onto the beaters, stop the mixer and use your rubber spatula to scrape them back into the batter.
It's okay if you have small lumps in the batter. More than likely, that's the result of the crisp brown edges of the marshmallows.
Finally, add the cornstarch and blend on low speed just until it's mixed into the batter.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust, then set the foil wrapped pan into a larger pan. Fill the outer pan with boiling water to create a water-bath and carefully place the pan into the preheated oven.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the cheesecake after 45 minutes. If the top looks golden brown, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over it-but don't press it onto the surface- to stop it from browning too much as it continues baking.
After baking, turn the oven off and prop open the door an inch or two. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for one hour.
After an hour of cooling in the oven, remove the pan. Remove the cheesecake pan from the water bath and unwrap the foil from the sides. Allow the cheesecake to cool on the countertop for 30 minutes, then wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 5-6 hours or overnight.

Make the Chocolate Ganache Topping

About an hour before you're ready to serve the cheesecake, prepare the chocolate ganache topping.
Heat the cream until it's steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a mixing bowl and whisk until the chocolate melts and no lumps remain.
Allow the ganache to cool for 5 minutes prior to pouring.

Finish the S'mores Cheesecake

When you're ready to top the s'mores cheesecake, remove the collar from the springform pan.
Spread the ganache over the surface of the cold cheesecake using an offset spatula. The ganache is going to harden when it cools, so work somewhat fast.
Decorate the cheesecake with more marshmallows, graham cracker segments, and broken milk chocolate bars.
Likewise, you can pipe rosettes of swiss meringue and top with the latter two. If you do choose to decorate it with swiss meringue, don't refrigerate the cake after doing so or the meringue will weep.
Enjoy your S'mores Cheesecake within 3 days of baking it.

Notes

Successful Storage Tips:

After cutting the cheesecake, press a piece of wax paper against any exposed inner surfaces. It prevents the cheesecake from getting gunky.
Cheesecakes are best if eaten within 3 days of baking.
To freeze your cheesecake: prior to topping it with the ganache, wrap the refrigerated cheesecake in a double layer of plastic wrap and freeze it for 2 months or less. When you're ready to serve it, thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours and top with the ganache as instructed.

Nutrition