Honey chocolate cheesecake



Honey chocolate cheesecake

Honey chocolate cheesecake

Cheesecake is a great way of producing something gorgeous without too much sugar. Apart from the base which has sugar from the shop-bought biscuits, this recipe does not need anything more than some honey.

Ingredients:

175g gluten free digestive biscuits

35g dark chocolate

50g dairy free margarine

400g lactose free soft cheese

75g honey

2 eggs

20g cocoa powder

75g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the base and side of a 8 inch loose-bottomed cake tin and pop into the oven. This helps to ensure the cheesecake does not stick to the side.

Pop the biscuits into a processor and blend until you get a fine mix. Melt the chocolate and margarine together in a microwave for 90 seconds and mix to combine. Add the crushed biscuits to the melted chocolate and margarine and mix to combine. Pour into the prepared tin and using the back of a spoon or your hands, press evenly over the base. Pop the tin back into the fridge. 

Prepare the cheesecake mix, by blending the cheese, honey and eggs together. Melt the chocolate in a microwave and leave to cool a bit before adding to the rest of the mixture together with the cocoa powder. Do not over beat. 

Pour into the tin and pop into the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not worry if a crack forms in the cheesecake as this is normal and adds to its uniqueness. Leave in the oven for an hour with the oven door ajar. Once the tin is cool you can either leave in the fridge overnight to enjoy the next day with some coffee or if you cannot wait, pop into the fridge for a couple of hours before carefully taking out and having a slice.

Creamy baked vanilla cheesecake

To die for!

Creamy baked vanilla cheesecake

A good cheesecake is a thing of beauty combining soft decadence with a rich sweetness but not requiring too much sugar. This recipe is a favourite recipe but dependent on the availability of lactose-free cheese which is not always a given. It is deserving of a vanilla pod though as the flavour really does come through. 

Ingredients:

340g gluten free digestive biscuits
100g dairy free margarine
800g lactose-free cream cheese
75g light muscovado sugar
75g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
30g cornflour
1 vanilla pod

Preheat the oven to 170C. Measure the margarine in a bowl and melt for 30 seconds in a microwave. Pulse the digestives in a food processor until fine. Pour the margarine into the processor and pulse with the biscuits. Pour into a 10” loose-bottomed tin and press in with your fingers to ensure the base it evenly covered. Pop into the fridge whilst you prepare the filling. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugars together. Then add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the cornflour and vanilla pods seeds being careful not to overmix. Pour onto the biscuit base and pop into the oven for about 45-50 minutes until slightly golden on top. Don’t worry if a crack forms – this adds to the uniqueness of your creation and is perfectly normal!

Did an earthquake hit?

Leave the oven door slightly ajar and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool before popping into the fridge for at least 1 hour. Serve with some cherry jam or any other flavour of your choice. Or simply have it naked and enjoy the creaminess and vanilla loveliness. 

Lovely and creamy!

So, which is your favourite cheesecake topping?

Vanilla Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake

Vanilla Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake

The pictures from the Japanese earthquake were shocking and surreal. It made for both compelling and uncomfortable viewing since it was akin to watching a disaster movie. My thoughts are with the people in Japan who have to deal with this tragedy.

It was by chance that I had planned to make a Japanese cheesecake for my mum's birthday picnic. The combination of a cheesecake and sponge cake has fascinated me so I was keeping it for a special occasion.

Ingredients:

125ml rice milk
300g cream cheese
75g dairy-free margarine
1 vanilla pod
85g plain gluten-free flour
30g corn flour
150g caster sugar
6 eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C. Prepare a 9 inch loose bottomed high cake tin by greasing the sides and lining with baking paper. Cover the sides of the tin with foil as it will be baked in a bain marie.

Pour some boiled water into a pan and in a large metal mixing bowl (bigger than the pan) place the rice milk, cream cheese and margarine. Put the bowl on top of the bowl over a low heat and whisk until blended together and there are no lumps.

Sieve the flour and corn flour into the cream cheese mix together with six egg yolks and the vanilla beans. Whisk together to ensure that the mixture has lots of air.

In another metal mixing bowl, whisk the 6 egg whites and cream of tartar for a few minutes until firm and peaks appear. Add in the caster sugar and whisk again until soft peaks appear.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and add the rest of the egg whites a third at a time. The mixture should be very airy.

Pour into the prepared tin and place in a baking tin. Pour some hot water on the sides of the baking tin making sure not water gets into the cake tin.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes. For the last 15 minutes, place some foil over the cake to avoid over browning. Leave the oven door slightly ajar and leave the cake in the oven for at least 1 hour. Don't be too alarmed if the cake shrinks around the sides. That is a good sign!