Baked Chocolate Cheesecake - oh yes!

What is that smell from Chocolate? It instantly tingles my senses and starts the salivation. And for me, a lover of baked cheesecakes there couldn't be a happier union than chocolate and baked cheesecake. The twist though, is that this recipe was made brilliantly easy by the thermomix. Not just the mixing - but the fiddly bain-marie step was replaced by using the Varoma. 

Ever since the very foodie Brooke from WholeFoodieKitchen told me that she made 2 chocolate chestnut cheesecakes to compare baking and steaming, (guess which one won?) I have been itching to try. I already tried a hybrid of Nigella's baked chocolate cheesecake with the toblerone cheesecake, and did the bain marie - and my husband's verdict is that this steamed version topped the charts. 

We love bittersweet, dark chocolate. So if you know you're a Cadbury Dairy Milk kinda kid, then I would use toblerone chocolate or 1/2 milk, 1/2 dark chocolate plus some extra sugar in this recipe.

If you are going to have all the bad stuff....do it in fabulous style. Here's my tweaked and twisted recipe:

Base:

60g toasted and rubbed hazelnuts (or toasted almonds)

1 tsp cocoa if you like DARK

200g packet of chocolate biscuits (we used the additive free Arnott's chocolate ripple)

80g cubed butter (I cubed it very small)

(you could try some orange zest and a dash of nutmeg and cardamom for a spicy christmas twist - blitz first on speed 9 for 20 seconds)

Place nuts in TM bowl +/- cocoa and mix for 3 seconds speed 8. (I like texture in my base)

Add the biscuits, breaking in half as you add to the bowl. Put in locked lid position and pulse x 3. Check the mix - if there are still some big biscuit chunks, pulse 2-3 x more.

Add the butter and mix on REVERSE speed 6 for around 8 seconds (until you hear the sound change). It should be starting to clump together.

Press it into your spring form tin and pop it in the freezer while you get to work on your cheesecake.

I used a 20cm spring form tin, greased, and the base covered in foil.

Cheesecake:

150g caster sugar

1tsp cocoa

1tsp instant coffee

200g dark chocolate broken into small pieces + some extra for garnish

2x Phillie cheese packets (500g cream cheese)

2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks (though I wonder if 2 eggs plus 2 yolks would be enough)

100g sour cream (use thickened cream if you don't like bittersweet)

or you could do 80g sour cream and 20g Contreau or Frangelico

1 x 20cm spring form tin, lightly greased. I put foil around the base, but next time I will try without.

Blitz the sugar, cocoa and coffee for 5 seconds speed 9.

Add the chocolate and blitz for 8 seconds speed 9, then cook for 2 minutes, 70 degrees speed 3. Use your spatula to ensure the mix at the top is incorporating. It should look like fudge is forming.

Add 1 of your Phillie cheese packets and set for 1 1/2 minutes, 50 degrees speed 4. 

While it is whizzing, start chopping up your other packet of cream cheese with your spatula and begin adding it to the TM in the last 50 seconds. Turn it up to speed 5-6 occasionally if it isn't mixing through.

When done, push the mix away from the blades a little (like making a well) and add your eggs and yolks and sour cream. Mix for 20 seconds, varying the speed between 3-6 to incorporate everything.

Pour it into your prepared tin. I then sprayed a piece of alfoil, and made a dome shape covering over the top of the cheesecake, so that the steam wouldn't drip onto the mix.

Put 1.3L of hot water into your Thermie and set on the base. Lock in your lid and put the varoma in place. Put some aerators over the holes so that the spring form tin doesn't cover them - pencils, chopsticks, etc. I used little chinese dipping bowls. Put in your cake and put the varoma lid on. Then set to 55 minutes, varoma temperature, speed 2.

Time to check your cheesecake! It should have a slight wobble but be fairly formed looking, (not swampy soft in the middle). If need be, cook another 10 minutes, varoma speed 2, but check your water levels.

Let it sit in your fridge for several hours or until the biscuit crumb is pulling back from the edge of the spring form. I garnished with a chocolate peelings. Serve with orange and cream me thinks!