Joe’s Chocolate Recipes

A rich creamy baked cheesecake is the perfect end to lunch in the summer, or as a contrast to all those rich meaty flavours on a barbecue. Here I’ve put together a simple recipe together with all the tips you need to get the right texture, without any cracking.

I have made my cheesecake without a biscuit base, since I never feel that the base adds much to the finished product (and they annoyingly tend to leak melted butter all over the bottom of the oven when baking), but I have included instructions for a biscuit base if you feel you need one. I’ve suggested chocolate bourbon biscuits as they give an intensely chocolatey taste, but you could use other biscuits if you prefer. Please note that if you’re not using a biscuit base you will find that the mixture leaks out of the base of the tin unless you line it. I get around this by using pre-formed baking parchment liners (they are available from good baking supply stores in several sizes). Alternatively you can use a tin that does not have a removable base, but the cheesecake tends to be difficult to remove neatly.

If you want to make this cheesecake a different size or shape, then see my article about baking for details of how to correctly assess altered cooking times and such to ensure you still get a good result.

I have finished this cheesecake with a topping made from blackcurrant jelly, but many other preserves could be used instead, or it can be left bare if you prefer an unadulterated chocolate flavour. If you use a jam or marmalade as the topping rather than a jelly you will probably have to allow a greater total volume to cover the same surface area (perhaps as much as 50% extra if the jam has lots of fruit pieces in it).

EQUIPMENT:

7 inch round tin (a springform or removable base tin can be an advantage)
Food processor or rolling pin and sealed plastic bag, for crushing biscuits, if making a biscuit base.
Large mixing bowl
Heatproof bowl with matching size saucepan for melting chocolate
Electric handmixer

INGREDIENTS:

For cheesecake base, if required:

115g (4 oz) chocolate bourbon biscuits
58g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling:

150g (5 ¼ oz) plain chocolate, melted (something with around 70% cocoa solids is ideal)
200g (7 oz) cream cheese
50g (1 ¾oz) double cream
60g (2 ¼ oz) caster sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
1 medium egg

For the cheesecake topping:

120 ml (4 ¼ fl oz) blackcurrant jelly

METHOD:

To make the cheesecake base, if required:

Grease the base of the tin and chill. Crush the biscuits, filling and all, to fine crumbs in a food processor (or use a clean sealed plastic bag and bash it with a rolling pin). Mix thoroughly with the melted butter, and press into the base, rounding up slightly at the sides. Place the base in the fridge to chill while you make the cheesecake itself.

To make the cheesecake filling:

Bring the cream cheese & double cream to room temperature, by standing it outside the fridge for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 130 °C (260 °F, Gas Mark 1). Melt the chocolate gently in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (see my blog article “Cooking with Chocolate: Choosing and Melting” for more details if you are new to chocolate work). If using a parchment lining, stand it inside the tin.

Beat the cream cheese and double cream until smooth with an electric handmixer. Add the sugar and vanilla, and beat again until smooth. Add the eggs one by one to the cream cheese mixture, beating well after each addition.

Mix the melted chocolate into the filling, and pour into the chilled base. Bake the cheesecake for 35-40 minutes, until the side is set, but the centre remains soft. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly open, and wait until the cheesecake is completely cool until removing from the oven (about 2 hours – this step will prevent it from cracking). Place the cheesecake in the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours.

To make the cheesecake topping:

Gently melt about 120 ml of blackcurrant jelly in a pan or in the microwave and pour gently over the cheesecake, spreading it evenly with the back of a spoon. Put back in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.

The cheesecake will keep for about 3 days in the fridge. The flavours and texture will actually mellow a little over that time, and if there is an ideal time to serve, I think it is about 24 hours after making. It makes about 6 modest portions, or 4 large ones. Whipped or clotted cream would make a good accompaniment, if you feel you need one. A modest size piece contains about 360 kcals and 25g fat without a biscuit base, and 520 kcals and 37g fat including a base.

If you wish, you can make this dish lower fat by using low fat cream cheese, and replacing the double cream with low fat yoghurt, and it will still be very tasty. However, it tends to be denser, the texture is not quite so creamy in the mouth, and the flavour is slightly different – a little more “cheesy”. If you choose to make the low fat version, I estimate that a modest portion contains about 283 kcals and 15g fat, not including a biscuit base, or 447 kcals and 27g fat including a biscuit base.