© Choba Choba
Award-winning pastry chef Christian Hümbs shares his exquisite chocolate cheesecake recipe, made with Choba Choba chocolate.
By Lisa Ehrhardt
Cheesecake is a dessert classic, beloved the world over. Its creamy texture, rich flavour, and endless variations make it a true delight for the palate. But taste isn’t the only thing that matters these days — more and more people care about fair-trade, high-quality ingredients too.
A master of sweet indulgence, Christian Hümbs is known for his inventive dessert creations. Now he’s crafted a chocolate cheesecake recipe that not only delights the senses but also showcases chocolate from Choba Choba, the farmer-owned chocolate brand.
Choba Choba is the first Swiss chocolate brand whose cocoa producers are co-owners of the company. That distinctive business model is reflected in the name itself, which comes from the Peruvian Amazon and translates roughly to “I help you, you help me.” Here, the cocoa farmers contribute not only their knowledge, experience, and land to the growing process — they also have a genuine say in the business. The global team, spanning members in Peru and Switzerland, shares not just the same values and vision, but responsibility, ownership, successes, and setbacks alike.
The chocolate is central to this recipe, lending the cheesecake its distinctive character.
CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
IRRESISTIBLY DELICIOUS
Ingredients
For the base: 120 g butter 400 g oat biscuits 10 g cocoa powder 5 g salt 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
For the crumble: 70 g flour 50 g sugar 20 g cocoa powder 40 g butter 15 g egg 1 pinch of salt
For the cremeux: Step 1 250 g milk 250 g cream 100 g egg yolk 50 g sugar 1 tsp acacia honey 325 g anglaise (see step 1) 200 g Pasiona chocolate 200 g Oswaldo chocolate
For the cheesecake cream: 250 g cream cheese 60 g cream 60 g sugar 2 eggs (medium) 20 g egg yolk 1 sheet gelatine 2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped Also needed: a 26 cm Ø cake ring, chocolate for coating, cocoa powder for dusting.
Makes 12 servings • 1 day to prepare
Method
1. For the biscuit base, preheat the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat) and line a 26 cm round springform pan with baking paper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Pulse the oat biscuits and cocoa powder in a food processor until finely ground, then combine with the melted butter, sugar, and salt.
3. Transfer the mixture into the prepared springform pan, spreading it evenly and pressing firmly across the base and up the sides. Bake at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for 10 minutes.
4. Let the base cool completely, then brush it thinly with melted chocolate and chill in the refrigerator.
5. For the chocolate crumble, briefly knead all the ingredients together, spread onto a baking sheet, and bake at 190°C for about 14 minutes. Let cool.
6. For the cremeux, bring the milk and cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and honey until smooth.
7. Once the milk-cream mixture reaches a boil, pour half of it slowly over the egg yolk mixture, then return everything to the saucepan and heat gently, stirring constantly, to 85°C.
8. Take 325 g of the hot mixture and pour it over the two chocolates.
9. Once the chocolate cremeux is smooth, pour it over the chilled biscuit base and refrigerate, covered, overnight.
10. For the cheesecake cream, combine all ingredients except the gelatine in a Thermomix and heat for 24 minutes on speed 4 at 70°C.
11. Stir in the gelatine, then refrigerate overnight.
12. The next day, whisk the cheesecake cream briefly until smooth and spread it over the now-set cremeux.
14. Finish with the chocolate crumble on top and a light dusting of cocoa powder.
