Strawberry & Chocolate Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

CHEESECAKE
• 308g Oreos
• 75g unsalted butter, melted
• 500g mascarpone
• 340g full fat cream cheese
• 300ml double cream
• 200g white chocolate
• 4 tbsp strawberry jam

GANACHE
• Red food colouring
• 50ml double cream
• 150g white chocolate

FOR DECORATION
• 8 strawberries
• 100ml whipped cream
• 75g dark chocolate
• 25g white chocolate

METHOD

1. Crush the Oreos with a hand blender until completely ground. Add melted butter and combine with a spoon
2. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round, deep, loose bottomed cake tin. Add the biscuit mixture to the cake tin and pat it flat with the back of a spoon. Leave to set in the fridge for about 30 mins.
3. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof glass bowl over a small pan of hot water on a low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and just before it is fully melted add the preserve and stir through.
4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins until barely warm but still a liquid consistency.
5. Meanwhile whisk the cream cheese and mascarpone together. Add double cream and keep whisking until the mixture is fully holding its own shape. Finally add the melted chocolate and strawberry jam and whisk until combined.
6. Spoon the mixture over the cooled and set biscuit base, then smooth the top. Return to the fridge to cool whilst you prepare the ganache
7. To make the ganache put the food colouring, double cream and white chocolate into a microwavable bowl and heat at 15 second intervals stirring well after each one, until you have a smooth, glossy, pourable mixture.
8. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge, pour over the ganache and return to the fridge.
9. For the decoration, melt both chocolates in separate bowls in the microwave on 30 second intervals, when fully melted, dip the strawberries in the dark chocolate and pop on to a lined baking tray. Using a spoon drizzle, the white chocolate in lines. Once these are set enough to handle put on to the cheesecake leaving a little room between each one.
10. Beat the whipping cream until soft peaks are formed then either pipe or spoon between each strawberry.
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Black Forest & Pistachio Cheesecake

This no bake, rich, delicious cherry and pistachio no bake cheesecake makes the perfect weekend treat. Its one of the most simple recipes you could ever create, yet maximises on flavour and tasty joy!

INGREDIENTS

Base
50g unsalted butter (melted)
300g milk chocolate digestives

Cheesecake
300ml double cream
500g mascarpone
100g icing sugar
200g milk chocolate (melted)
200g dark chocolate (melted)
200g fresh cherries (pitted and chopped )
100g Morello cherry jam
100g pistachios (finely chopped – I use a food processor for this)

METHOD

1. Line a deep 8 inch loose bottom cake tin with grease proof paper.

2. Using a food processor blitz the digestives to a fine crumb, then add in the melted butter and pulse until all combined.

3. Press down the biscuit base into the bottom of the lined tin and push down so it is even using the back of a spoon. Refrigerate whilst you make the cheesecake.

4. Put the mascarpone, cream, melted chocolates and icing sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mix or a stand mixer and beat until it is all combined and thick (if you over work add a couple of tbsp of milk and beat again).

5. Add in the Morello jam and beat again briefly

6. Fold in the chopped cherries with a wooden spoon or spatula.

7. Remove the base from the fridge and spoon on top level off with the back of a spoon.

8. Scatter the finely chopped pistachios all over the surface. Then pop back in the fridge to firm up for around 3-4 hours.

9. When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and take out of the spring form tin on to a plate. (Tip – use a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before removing from the tin.

10. Store in the fridge and will last around 4 days.

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Chocolate & Peanut Butter No Bake Cheesecake

A no bake cheesecake with a few twists, topped with a blonde chocolate ganache it really adds a gorgeous different texture to the whole thing. If you can’t get your hands on the golden blonde chocolate (I used one from M&S Simply Food which is their own brand in with the baking ingredients called “ingredients for cooks” – it’s absolutely delicious!), you can always sub in a milk chocolate. This recipe is absolute min effort, maximum reward too.

I prefer to use crunchy peanut butter as I really like the texture in the cheesecake, but again if you want to use smooth just swap it!

INGREDIENTS

Base
300g chocolate digestives
75g melted unsalted butter

Filling
400g full fat cream cheese
500g mascarpone
300ml double cream
300g crunchy peanut butter
6 heaped tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Ganache
300g golden blonde chocolate
300ml double cream
40g crunchy peanut butter

METHOD

1. Line the base of a 23cm springform tin and grease the sides.

2. Crush the digestives either using a rolling pin or in a blender (I use a magimix) until they are a fine crumb.

3. Stir in the melted butter and tip into the base of the tin. Using the back of a spoon pat down until even and firm across the base. Put to one side whilst you make the filling.

4. Put the cream cheese, mascarpone, vanilla essence and double cream into a bowl and using either a hand or stand mixer beat for a couple of minutes, this gives the cream chance to thicken as well as combining the ingredients.

5. Add the icing sugar and beat again until well combined

6. Add the peanut butter and then beat again until fully combined.

7. Spoon on top of the biscuit base and smooth across for an even fill, pop in the fridge whilst you make the ganache.

8. Break the chocolate up into small pieces and pop in a heat proof bowl, add the peanut butter on top.

9. Add the cream to a saucepan and bring to a very low simmer, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.

10. Leave to stand for a few minutes before then mixing thoroughly with a balloon whisk until it has fully combined and you have a smooth, pourable ganache. (if you haven’t heated the cream quite enough and so all the chocolate hasn’t melted pop in the microwave for 10 second intervals, keep stirring after each time as you don’t want to overheat).

11. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and pour the ganache over the top.

12. Optional: grate some white chocolate over the top

13. Put back in the fridge and leave in there for 3-4 hours before removing to serve.

Store in the fridge

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Chocolate & Hazelnut Cheesecake

This is such an easy bake, but tastes unbelievably yummy. This is often one I can quickly throw together to take on a playdate with the boys at their friends house as grown up and kids alike always love it!

INGREDIENTS

100g melted unsalted butter
300g digestive biscuits
600g cream cheese
100g icing sugar
200g Nutella
200ml whipped double cream

For the top – chopped up Hazelnut chocolate bar or kinder bar

METHOD

1. Crush the digestives and add in the butter, mix well.
2. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 20cm greased round, spring form tin, refrigerate whilst you create the filling.
3. Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together. Separate the combined mixture into two bowls of equal amounts.
4. Add the Nutella to one bowl and beat in until fully combined.
5. Divide the whipped cream between the two bowls of mixture and fold in until fully combined.
6. Spoon large dollops of each mixture onto the biscuit base until full, then swirl a knife through the mixture.
7. Add the chopped hazelnut/kinder chocolate bar on the top to decorate.

Enjoy!

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Blackcurrant, Sloe Gin & Chocolate Cheesecake

The flavour combinations in this are just beautiful and really makes the humble no bake cheesecake feel really quite grown up!

INGREDIENTS

200g biscoff biscuits
200g digestive biscuits
150g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease
500g milk chocolate, broken into pieces
4.5 tablespoons of Mrs Bridges Blackcurrant & Sloe Gin preserve (or equivalent)
300g full fat Philadelphia
250g mascarpone
300ml double cream
60g blackcurrants or blueberries to serve

METHOD

1. Crush the biscuits with a hand blender until completely ground. Add melted butter and combine with a spoon
2. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round, deep, loose bottomed cake tin. Add the biscuit mixture to the cake tin and pat it flat with the back of a spoon. Leave to set in the fridge for about 30 mins.
3. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof glass bowl over a small pan of hot water on a low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and just before it is fully melted add the preserve and stir through.
4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 mins until barely warm but still a liquid consistency.
5. Meanwhile whisk the cream cheese and mascarpone together. Add double cream and keep whisking until the mixture is fully holding it’s own shape. Finally add the melted chocolate and preserve mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Spoon the mixture over the cooled and set biscuit base, then smooth the top. Return to the fridge to cool for at least 4 hours until the topping is set. Serve with blackcurrants or blueberries.

Enjoy!

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Caramac & raspberry cheesecake mousse open pie

This one went down an absolute storm in this house! I mean what’s not to like, it’s not quite a cheesecake, not quite a mousse, it’s a bit in between the two and its so deep fill it has to be an open pie! One thing I can tell you with certainty though is its VERY tasty.

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of chocolate hobnobs
1 pack of oreos
90g of butter melted
260g mascarpone
300ml double cream
2 heaped tablespoons icing sugar
1 can condensed milk
250g caramac melted and cooled (I used gold callebaut chips, available on Amazon)
A dozen raspberries

METHOD

1. 1. Line an 8 inch loose bottom round tin and grease the sides
   2. Crush all the biscuits, I used my Magimix for that to get as fine a crumb as possible, pour in the melted butter and mix. Tip into the lined cake tin and squash down the biscuit mixture across the base and push up the sides of the cake tin to create a pie like base. (see the picture to see how it goes up the sides). Put the tin in the fridge to set a little whilst you prepare the middle.
   3. The middle is super easy, just pop all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix, this can be done with either an electric stand mixer or hand mixer, keep it going on a high power for about 4-5mins as you want the cream to get nice and fluffy.
   4. When it’s nice and thick and feels quite “fluffy”, pour in on top of the biscuit mixture, it’s absolutely fine if it goes over the top, that way it creates a really nice look. Top around the edges with the raspberries and cool in the fridge for 3-4 hours, ideally overnight.
   5. Store in the fridge, it will keep for up to 3 days.Enjoy!

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