best. cheesecake. ever.

I made a cheesecake with  O N E   K I L O  of cream cheese

It was so amazing I don't even want to write about it.

I can describe it in one word  -  H E A V Y !

Besides, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?!

M A R S   B A R   C H E E S E C A K E

310g chocolate biscuits

150g butter, melted

4tbsp brown sugar

40g butter, extra

3 cups cream

3 tsp gelatine

½ cup water

1kg cream cheese, chopped, softened

1 cup caster sugar

10x mars bars, finely chopped

B I S C U I T   B A S E

Process biscuits until fine. Transfer biscuits to a medium bowl, stir in butter. Press mixture evenly over base of 20cm springform pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

B U T T E R S C O T C H   S A U C E

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, 40g butter and 4 tablespoons of the cream. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes.

C H E E S E C A K E

In a small heatproof jug, sprinkle gelatine over the water. Stand jug in a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until dissolved.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and caster sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. In a small bowl, beat remaining cream with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stir slightly warm gelatine mixture into cream cheese mixture with half of the chopped Mars Bars; then fold in whipped cream.

A S S E M B L E

Pour 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture onto the biscuit base in pan. Drizzle over 2/3 of the butterscotch sauce. Swirl the mixture to distribute the butterscotch sauce. Repeat the process with remaining cream cheese mixture, butterscotch sauce.

Refrigerate for 5 hours or until set. 

xx

... there was also cheesecake

Even though it actually feels like months ago, I have just one more Christmas post before I get back on my spiritual high-horse.

Actually, this was a pre-Christmas dessert.

My contribution to a casual dinner with friends.

B A K E D   L E M O N   C H E E S E C A K E

: BAKED LEMON CHEESECAKE :

This was a new recipe for me. 
And I was a little sad about how it sunk in the middle; and how the crust pulled away from the cake..

But perfectionist-mentality aside, it was delicious.

And sometimes that's all that matters.

Interesting note - I don't own a food processor.

So I had to bash the biscuits with a rolling pin. Old school style.

It was therapeutic, I'm not gonna lie.

Traditional biscuits bashing - With a rolling pin...

And I served it with cointreau flavoured thickened cream.

OMG....

Would I make it again?!

100% YES.

Shopping List:

250g sweet plain biscuits (I used Arnott's NICE)

150g butter, melted

500g cream cheese, softened

3/4 caster sugar

3 teaspoons lemon rind

3 eggs

1/4 cup lemon juice

How To :

Preheat the oven to 160C

Grease a 6cm deep springform pan

Process biscuits until finely chopped (or, if you're like me and don't have a food processor, bash biscuits until they're a crumb consistency)

Add butter; Combine

Press mixture into base; Refrigerate

Beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon rind until smooth

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beat until combined

Add lemon juice; mix

Pour mixture into prepared pan

Bake for 50 minutes

Cool in oven

Refrigerate until cool

Serve

xx

Cake Overdose

It's taken me a week to write this post, simply because I couldn't even look at cake after my overdose last Sunday.

We had a family BBQ on Sunday and I provided the sweets.

Orange & Almond Meal Cake (recipe here);

Apple Cake with Praline Glaze (recipe here);

Mocha Cheesecake; and

Scones

I may or may not have eaten a 'sample' of each... Don't judge me.

The scones were unintentional. 

But I had a friend pop in on the Saturday at lunch time, right in the midst of my baking frenzy.. So I whipped up some scones using my nan's fave recipe.

This was only the second time in my life that I've made scones.. And they weren't too bad, if I do say so myself.

The perfect afternoon treat with a cup of tea and of course some jam and cream.. mmm..

Oh.. here's the recipe for the 

M O C H A   C H E E S E C A K E 

Mix 250g almond meal, 125g melted butter and 1 tbsp sweetener (I used Natvia);

Press into a pre-lined spring form tin;

Refrigerate

Cream 500G cream cheese & 2/3 cup caster sugar;

Add 3 whole eggs (1 at a time);

Add 2 tsp coffee essence and 100g melted dark choc;

Pour into set base;

Cook on 180 for 40 minutes;

Turn off oven - Leave cake in oven for 1 hour;

Refrigerate overnight.

Dust with cocoa to serve.

EAT!

No baking for me this weekend. I need a treat free week to detox from all that sugar!

xx

Celebration Cheesecake

I promised my Cool Pod ladies celebration cheesecake today, so I whipped up this special treat on Sunday afternoon.

And let me tell you - It was the perfect cure to Monday-itis.



Baked Cheesecake with Chocolate Biscuit Base



The recipe is a combination of a few different methods...

Ingredients

100g butter, melted

300g choc ripple biscuits

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

200g caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

3 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

few drops pure vanilla, or vanilla extract to taste

pinch of salt

2 cups sour cream

This baked cheesecake is exceptionally creamy. Cheesecakes are prone to cracking; usually this means they have been baked at too high a temperature. The mixture should not be overbeaten, either, as this is likely to lead to the mixture sinking in the oven as the extra volume deflates.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Brush the base and sides of a 22cm x 6cm deep springform tin with a little of the melted butter. Remove the base from the tin.

Cut a round of baking paper to fit the base of the tin, brush the paper with a little butter and set aside.

Tear off an 80cm sheet of foil and double it over so it measures 40cm in length. Lay the foil over the base of the tin, then put the buttered round of paper on top. Sit the springform tin over the base and lock the sides into place, leaving excess foil outside the tin. Draw up the excess foil around the tin and fold the top out of the way. You now have a watertight container.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Add the remaining butter and process. Press the crumb mixture into the base of the tin, tapping firmly with the base of a glass tumbler or similar as you go.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the cornflour, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating each time just until smooth.

Add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt.

Add the sour cream and beat briefly to combine.

Pour the batter into the tin and stand the tin in a large baking dish.

Pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the tin.

Bake for 50 minutes, then turn off the oven but do not open the door for a further hour.

Lift the tin from the water bath and flatten the foil away from the sides just in case there is any water trapped inside.

Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving

There might even be some left over for morning tea tomorrow! Yum...

xx