Easy Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

This is cheesecake with a cheat code. Sweetened condensed milk replaces the sugar and most of the cream in a traditional cheesecake, which is why this pie comes together in 15 minutes and bakes in half the time of a full springform version. Melted semisweet chocolate chips get beaten directly into the cream cheese base for a dense, fudgy filling that’s somewhere between cheesecake and chocolate truffle.

The vanilla wafer crust is a clever swap for the standard graham cracker base. Crushed vanilla wafers blended with cocoa powder and melted butter create a deeper, more chocolate-leaning crust without going to the trouble of making a real chocolate cookie crumb. Press the crumb firmly up the sides of the pie plate. A loose crust crumbles when sliced and the filling oozes through the gaps.

Pro Tips

• Soften the cream cheese to true room temperature. Cold cheese leaves lumps in the filling that no amount of beating will smooth out.
• Melt the chocolate chips gently in the microwave at 30-second intervals or over a double boiler. Direct heat scorches chocolate fast.
• Add eggs at the end and mix on low. Overbeating after the eggs go in incorporates too much air and the surface cracks during baking.
• Cool slowly to prevent cracks. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the pie cool for 30 minutes before moving to the counter.

Variations

• Top with fresh raspberries and a dusting of powdered sugar for a chocolate-raspberry finish.
• Swirl a few tablespoons of peanut butter into the top of the filling before baking for a Reese’s-style version.
• Drizzle the chilled pie with melted white chocolate and shaved dark chocolate for a marbled finish.