Inspired by the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, this cheesecake features a flourless chocolate cake crust, a layer of chocolate cheesecake, a layer of dark chocolate mousse, and topped with ganache!

This post was originally published on October 30, 2009. It was updated with additional recipe details, photos and commentary in February 2025.
This is my 100th post!!! I thought I would get here much sooner, but I didn't realize how much my cooking and baking would slow down as I finished up my thesis defense!
I wanted to post something special for this occasion, and I think this cheesecake is definitely 'grander' than your run of the mill dessert.
The Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory is my ultimate favorite indulgence dessert (see below!):

It's a layer of flourless chocolate cake (that's just the crust people!), topped with chocolate cheesecake, then chocolate mousse, and covered in chocolate ganache, which is sprinkled with cocoa powder - WHAT!!!!!!!! Insanely delicious and I'm sure oh-so horrible health-wise.

For this reason, I very rarely have this cheesecake (plus it's like $8 a slice!), but for my birthday, which was last week, I decided I wanted to create my own version at home. I've been planning to do this since my birthday last year in fact. I even eluded to it in a previous post!

To do this, I chose recipes that I thought would work together to recreate this dessert. I knew Dorie Greenspan's ganache would work wonderfully and the cheesecake layer from the Bailey's Irish Cheesecake would be perfect, but I didn't have any recipes for the flourless chocolate cake and chocolate mousse.
The flourless chocolate cake had to be thin since it was the crust. I considered making this chocolate mousse, but from the Cheesecake Factory picture, the mousse looks like a dark chocolate one, so I thought I should search for another recipe.
The crust is baked in a springform pan first, then the cheesecake layer is added and baked. I adapted this flourless chocolate cake recipe for the crust.
After the cheesecake cools, the chocolate mousse layer is added on top of that. I adapted Bobby Flay's recipe for the Dark Chocolate Mousse.
The ganache top is the final step.
In the end, this cheesecake took a long time to put together, but I broke it up into multiple weeknights. While I can't say it was better than Cheesecake Factory, it was just as good, and how can you beat perfection?!?

I served this cheesecake to some friends at a Game Night, and they really loved it. Everyone had a different layer that was their favorite, so that was fun. Like a true married couple, my favorite was the ganache and the cheesecake, and Bob's was the mousse and the crust!

If you're looking for a rich chocolate dessert to impress your friends, this is a great one!
Bonus: because this homemade version has a flourless chocolate cake as the crust, this cheesecake is naturally gluten free!
Jump to:
Prepare the Pan
First, trace a 9-inch springform pan with a pencil on a piece of parchment paper.

Cut the paper a little smaller than the circle so it will fit inside the pan. Spray the sides and bottom of the pan with non-stick baking spray that contains flour. If gluten free, you can butter the pan and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
Add the parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and then add more spray on top.

Make the Crust
In the top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter.

Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake for 30 minutes, then remove it from the oven and use the back of a spoon to smush the cake down to make a thinner crust. Let cool to room temperature before adding the cheesecake mixture.

Bake the Cheesecake

The best way to bake a cheesecake with no cracks is to use a hot water bath or bain-marie. The way I do this is by wrapping the bottom and sides of the springform pan in a single piece of large heavy duty aluminum foil (the long/large size can be found at wholesale stores like Costco or Sam's Club).

You may want to do a double layer if you're worried about leaks. Place the wrapped pan into a larger baking pan filled halfway with hot water.
Bake the cheesecake for 50 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles in the center when moved.

At this point, turn off the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Keep the cheesecake in the oven for an hour. This step, combined with the hot water bath, helps to prevent cracks in your cheesecake.

After you remove the cheesecake from the oven, chill it in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the mousse.
Make the Chocolate Mousse
When I first developed this recipe, I used Bobby Flay's recipe for the Dark Chocolate Mousse. When going to make this for my daughter's birthday, I realized that the recipe for the mousse contains raw eggs. I was not comfortable serving raw eggs to children and grandparents, so I looked for another recipe.
I found this one from Martha Stewart which was very similar to the one in my Betty Crocker Cookbook. The eggs are cooked to a safe temperature, so this was ideal.
The recipe on the Martha Stewart website is different from the video, which many reviewers noted in the comments. I tried to follow the video, but I still had some trouble with the chocolate incorporating into the whipped cream.
I found this excellent YouTube video by Dallas Chocolate Classes with Chef Zach Townsend where he explains the two common issues with making chocolate mousse.
The first mistake is that the chocolate mixture is too cold when mixed with the whipped cream. It needs to be close to body temperature (98.6°F or 37°C) when it is mixed with the aerator (in this case whipped cream). It can actually be anywhere between 95-100°F. This was definitely my issue because the recipe in Betty Crocker says to refrigerate the chocolate mixture for several hours before lightening it with cream!
The second common error in making mousse is overwhipping the aerator, in this case the whipped cream. Chef Townsend recommend beating the cream on medium speed just until it is billowy but not forming peaks.
I did not do that; my cream was forming peaks. My resulting mousse was thicker than his, but it still worked well to spread as a layer on this cake and held up to having ganache and eventually buttercream and a cake topper placed on top.

Prepare the Ganache
To make the ganache, melted chocolate is combined with hot cream and whisked until smooth.
The ganache should be cooled briefly and then spread over the top of the mousse. You can leave the acetate collar on for a clean look, or remove the acetate and the ring of the springform before adding the ganache if you prefer it to drip down the sides of the cheesecake.

Troubleshooting
One of the issues you might encounter when making this recipe is having trouble getting the chocolate to incorporate into the cheesecake batter or into the mousse. This means that the chocolate was too cold when it was added.
If you add it to the cheesecake batter and there are lumps of chocolate that will not melt back in, I recommend placing the metal mixing bowl inside a larger bowl filled with hot water and continuing to mix the batter, smashing the lumps of chocolate against the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to get them to melt.
Continue to do this until the chocolate is fully incorporated or you will have clumps of chocolate in your cheesecake.
Another issue you may come across is lumps of chocolate in your mousse. This means the chocolate was too cold when mixed with the whipped cream.
If this happens, you can use a silicone spatula to press the chocolate into the sides of the bowl to get them to incorporate. This will deflate the whipped cream, so you'll need to use more whipped cream to bump up the volume.
To do this, mix up some additional whipped cream and fold it into the lightened chocolate mixture. This should result in a smooth mousse. It will be a little lighter in color and flavor, but in my opinion that is better than a lumpy mousse!
Modifications
The cheesecake recipe I originally chose for this is from the Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake. As I mentioned, you can add the Irish cream or cold coffee.
I think this would be really good using the cheesecake layer from the Mocha Cheesecake. It would be a taller cake, so I don't recommend doing that unless you have an acetate sheet to make a cake collar.
The ganache recipe has 2 teaspoons light corn syrup. This adds just a little more shine to the ganache. You can leave this out if you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
Chill the cheesecake until ready to serve.
Carefully remove the springform pan ring, then slowly peel off the acetate collar, if using.

You should be able to slide a plastic knife underneath the crust to loosen the cake from the bottom of the pan. The cake can be slid onto a cake platter or serving plate.
You can leave the cheesecake plain, sprinkle it with cocoa powder, or even decorate it with buttercream, like I did for this Garden Tea Party Cake.

I've also decorated a cheesecake for this Nutcracker Birthday Cake and Wizard of Oz Birthday Cake.
The easiest way to slice the cake is to slip it onto a cutting board and use a large chef's knife that has been run under hot water then dried. The hot knife will cut through the cheesecake easily and make less of a mess.

Gluten Free Option
This dessert contains no gluten, but please check your packaging for cross contamination as with any food allergy or intolerance.
📖 Recipe

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Copycat
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
Ingredients
- Butter (to grease pan)
- Cocoa powder (to dust pan)
Crust:
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chopped)
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 3 eggs (beaten)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate cheesecake:
- 16 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1⅓ cups sour cream
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Bailey's Irish Cream or strong chilled coffee
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (melted)
Dark chocolate mousse:
- 5¼ ounces bittersweet chocolate (coarsely chopped)
- 14 ounces cold heavy cream
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 ounce sugar
Ganache glaze:
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Finishing touch:
- cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Grease a 9-inch springform pan and then line with parchment paper (the bottom and sides). Grease the paper as well, then dust with cocoa powder.
Make the crust:
- In the top of a double boiler over lightly simmering water, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, ½ cup butter, ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup cocoa powder, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and use the back of a spoon to smush the cake down to make a thinner crust. Let cool to room temperature before adding the cheesecake mixture.
Make the cheesecake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while beating. Stir in sour cream, vanilla, and Bailey's or coffee. Stir in the melted chocolate.16 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1⅓ cups sour cream, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup Bailey's Irish Cream or strong chilled coffee, 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- Carefully wrap bottom and sides of the springform in aluminum foil and place pan in a larger baking pan filled halfway with water. This water bath step helps prevent cracks in the cheesecake.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust. Place the pan on the lower middle rack and bake the cheesecake for approximately 50 minutes or until it no longer jiggles in the center.
- Turn the oven off and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Keep the cheesecake in place for 1 hour.
- Let cool to room temperature. Loosen the sides of the pan from the cheesecake by running a small icing spatula or knife around the perimeter. Proceed to mousse step or cover cake with aluminum foil and refrigerate until the next day.
Make the dark chocolate mousse:
- Place the chocolate in a large bowl set over low simmering water (or in the top of a double boiler). Stir chocolate until melted. Turn off the heat and let stand to reach room temperature.5¼ ounces bittersweet chocolate
- Beat the cream over ice until it forms soft peaks. Set aside and hold at room temperature.14 ounces cold heavy cream
- With a mixer, whip egg to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and continue whipping until firm.3 large egg whites, 1 ounce sugar
- Transfer the chocolate to a large bowl. Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the chocolate. When the eggs whites are almost completely incorporated, fold in the whipped cream.
- Add mousse on top of cheesecake and smooth top. Cover cake with foil and refrigerate until ready to top with ganache.
Make the ganache:
- Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, in a bowl on top of simmering water, or in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second intervals.4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
- Boil the cream, then pour over the melted chocolate. Whisk until smooth. It will come together, just keep whisking. Add the corn syrup and mix completely.½ cup heavy whipping cream, 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- Allow to cool briefly. Do not allow the ganache cool too much or it will start to harden when it hits the cold mousse and be harder to spread. If you'd like the ganache to drip down the sides of the cheesecake, remove the springform pan sides and place cake on a platter lined with wax paper (the wax paper just needs to cover the bottom edges of the cake).
- Spread the ganache over mousse layer, allowing to drip down sides if desired. Sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired. Cover cake with aluminum foil and chill.
Melissa says
Holy Cow! Now that is a decadent dessert.
Sherri Murphy says
Unreal. I have gained 10 lbs. just looking at the photos! The photos are fabulous, by the way as is this amazing dessert!
Megan says
I too love the Cheesecake Factory's desserts - but yes, between the calories and price, it isn't very practical.
I think your version is far superior, however, even though it took a long time to make.
Unknown says
I'm sure you'll really, really appreciate that cheesecake now when you go out for it though. I like to try making my favorite things I've had out at home too, but it usually isn't worth the effort. It's always fun trying though! Your cake looks absolutely beautiful! Happy Birthday!
Bob says
Guh. WANT.
CaSaundraLeigh says
Congrats on the 100th post--I love your blog, and this cheesecake is one of the reasons why! Haha, you always put so much time and effort into your creations--I enjoy it!
Macaroni and Cheesecake says
This looks so decadent and fabulous!! Congrats on your 100th post! I love reading your blog and looking at your beautiful pictures!!
La Bella Cooks says
Wow, that is an amazing dessert! You really worked hard on that so enjoy every bite!
Reeni says
This look so incredibly delicious! And just as good if not better than the cheesecake factory. What I wouldn't do for a slice right now! Congrats on your 100th!
Kerstin says
Congrats on 100 posts!!! I love all the layers of deliciousness in your cheesecake, it's SO pretty and impressive!!
Me and My Pink Mixer says
Oh my gosh - your cheesecake looks fabulous! Congrats on your 100th post!
Aggie says
GORGEOUS!!! Congrats on your 100th post! This and the mini cheesecakes above look mouthwatering!
Melissa says
This was AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing in such detail how to make it!
Janet Rasband says
I just made this for a party tomorrow. I'm putting on the Ganache frosting now, then back into the cake refrigerator to spend the night.
Tomorrow I'll make a mocha buttercream frosting and add candied raspberries as a garnish.
Meghan says
Wow that sounds amazing!! 🙂
Chelsea says
OMG this is one of the best desserts I've ever had. Everyone was raving at our holiday party.
Meghan says
Love to hear that! 🙂
Misha says
I'm looking to make this for my sister's birthday coming up, would it be ok if I skip out on the light corn syrup in the ganache? Or is this absolutely necessary? Can I substitute it for something else, like maple syrup?
Meghan says
You can just leave it out-no problem!
Grace says
My boyfriend always talks about the Godiva Cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory, so since his birthday was coming up I knew I had to make it. I searched around for one with an actual picture and found this recipe on Pinterest. I did not find this recipe hard at all. There’s 4 sections: crust, cheesecake, mousse and ganache. I would measure out everything in little bowls each section to stay organized. I also was worried about the baking time ( 1 1/2 hour on top of 30 mins I had to do for crust) but it was totally fine and the perfect amount— I even did the jiggle test. The other thing I was worried about, like with most desserts is if it will be too sweet. But no, It came out PERFECT. It was super light, and not heavy at all. It tasted amazing, my boyfriend and the family couldn’t get over how incredible it came out. I was informed that it did taste exactly like the Cheesecake Factory one, and that it was my best yet. I 100% willl be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Meghan says
That is so great to hear! Thank you for sharing!
Grace says
Back again! Made this cake for my boyfriends birthday, and it did not disappoint. Everyone was OBSESSED. It’s delicious; not overly sweet, the brownie crust is like a molten chocolate cake brownie, the cheesecake is moist with sour cream and cream cheesy, smooth. The mousse is my personal fav—light, fluffy and so good. Ganache on top is great. This cake is just amazing. And all gone! We were so sad to finish it.
Meghan says
Thank you for returning to comment, and I'm so thrilled to hear how much everyone enjoyed it! Now you have me thinking about making it! 🙂