Baked Chocolate Banana Cheesecake—Prototype 2:
 
My cheesecakes have come a very long way over the years, including the last four. Here is a November 2017 update for this flavor combination (after my making an earlier one likely in the summer of 2013).
 
3-Cheese Blend (3CT-1NC-2YG):
Prepare ahead of time 16 ounces of yogurt cheese, derived from one 32-ounce container of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 16 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 24 ounces of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese and 8 ounces of softened Neufchatel cheese ("light cream cheese").

Grease a 9 1/2" (or 9") pan, but do not wrap foil around it until just before the batter is added (spreading the crust in an already wrapped pan can result in greater disturbance to the foil, thus increasing leakage risks).

Chocolate Crust:
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
8 oz. (1 cup) 3-cheese blend (see above)
3/8 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz. finely ground All-Bran

Place the resulting mixture in the greased pan and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes, depending on the mixture's thickness (closer to 10 minutes if thin enough to be fully distributed across the pan's bottom by gentle shaking, closer to 5 minutes if thick enough to require spreading out this mixture by pressing on it with a utensil and/or fingers), then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall.

Banana Batter:
20 oz. (2 1/2 cups) 3-cheese blend (see above)
1 teaspoon vanilla
5/8 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces of banana puree (tip: about 9 ounces of whole bananas, i.e., with the outer peels included—hopefully one large banana—should yield a sufficient amount of the inner fruit)
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 eggs

Wrap the pan in foil at this point. Carefully pour the banana batter on top of the crust and bake all this in a hot water tub at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes. Afterwards, take the tub-and-pan assembly out of the oven and promptly add the chocolate batter indicated below.

Chocolate Batter:
20 oz. (2 1/2 cups) 3-cheese blend (see above)
1 teaspoon vanilla
7/8 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 eggs

Carefully scoop this on top of the banana batter (it is best to do this around the edge of the pan and let the chocolate batter flow towards the middle) and return the tub-and-pan assembly to the oven, this time at only 300 degrees. Bake for about 70 more minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then shut off the oven and cool the cheesecake down while still in it (and in tub), with door slightly ajar, for an hour. Afterwards, remove from oven and tub and (at this point, add a border of chocolate chips if desired) continue to cool down at room temperature for another two hours, then remove from pan and refrigerate.

Chocolate Banana Cheesecake—Prototype 2

Like the previous chocolate banana cheesecake nearly four years ago, this one was the result of a request. But this time it came from my cousin Rachel's daughter, Mya. So I brought this cheesecake to Rachel's house, where it ended up being well-received. The taste was delicious, with an undeniable banana presence, as well as with a decent chocolate one.
 

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