This chocolate cheesecake recipe has a lovely mint flavour to it. Beautiful garnished with fresh mint leaves. This requires a bit of time to chill overnight, but in all it is not a hard recipe and it’s well worth the wait!
Ingredients:
250g chocolate biscuits
75g plain chocolate
3 tablespoons caster sugar
7 tablespoons butter
340g plain chocolate
900g cream cheese
350g caster sugar
4 eggs
125ml double cream
50g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
350ml soured cream
4 tablespoons caster sugar
125ml double cream
1 tablespoon butter
170g plain chocolate
Method:
Grind the chocolate biscuits and 75g of chocolate in a food processor; the crumbs should be small. Mix in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Melt 7 tablespoons of butter or margarine, and add it to the chocolate crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 23cm springform cake tin.
Melt 340g of chocolate, and cool slightly. Blend in cream cheese, 350g sugar, eggs, 125ml cream, cocoa, vanilla and peppermint extract. Pour this over the biscuit base. Bake for 1 hour at 180 C / Gas 4. Cool overnight.
In a small bowl, mix together the soured cream and 4 tablespoons sugar. Pour on top of cooled cheesecake. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 C / Gas 4. Chill for 6 to 8 hours.
To decorate the cheesecake make a chocolate icing: In a small saucepan, simmer 125ml cream and 1 tablespoon butter. Add to this the 170g of chocolate, and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Freeze until the mixture is piping consistency (stir occasionally). Using a pastry bag, pipe a lattice design on the top.
Perfect cheesecake tips
Don’t overbake: While it may look underdone, a cheesecake is actually done when the centre is still wobbly. Residual heat ‘carries over’ and the centre continues to cook once out of the oven.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool on a rack, or simply leave the oven door closed, turn off the heat and let the cheesecake cool undisturbed for at least 1 hour. This helps prevent the cheesecake from sinking in the centre. After chilling, the once-wobbly centre should firm up beautifully!
Bake in a water bath: The most effective way to bake a cheesecake evenly without browning the top is to bake in a water bath. Since water evaporates at boiling point, the water bath will never get hotter than 100C, no matter the oven temperature. This means that the outer edge of your cheesecake won’t bake faster than the centre, which can cause it to sink and crack.
Mixing matters: Make sure your cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature before mixing, or you’ll end up with lumps in your cheesecake. If you do end up with lumps in the batter, give it a quick spin in the food processor for silky smooth results.
Don’t forget to chill: A cheesecake needs several hours to chill and set, making it a perfect make-ahead dessert.
