I don't eat cheesecake often. I always enjoy it when I do, but it's just not a dessert that I'd naturally gravitate towards on a menu. But then there's this Milk Chocolate Cheesecake. It is so incredibly delicious that I would pick it every time.
I was lucky enough to join a Cake Boy chocolate baking course with Eric Lanlard just before Christmas. It was such a fun day and he was so hands on, teaching the class and getting stuck in to help us at any stage. It was a whirlwind. We made three desserts but were constantly switching between the stages of all three - whilst one was chilling or in the oven, we'd be making ganache or mousse or sweet chocolate pastry. I managed to come home with a list of ingredients and no notes about the little tricks and tips he taught us on the day. Just my memory!
I did the course with my mum so we came home with six mighty chocolate desserts (Chocolate Cheesecake, West Indies Chocolate Tart and Chocolate & Raspberry Torte on a Praline Base) - and even I was chocolated out after a few days of eating them!
It's a long bank holiday weekend here so I thought I'd treat the family with this fabulous Milk Chocolate Cheesecake made divine with the expertise of a master chocolatier (that's Eric Lanlard, not me!)
We start of by making the base which is a mixture of chocolate bourbon biscuits and melted butter. Once they're mixed together, they can be pressed into a greased and base lined baking tin and refrigerated for around a half hour.
Then we make the super yummy cheesecake mixture (the perk of this one is definitely bowl licking!) by mixing together mascarpone, cream cheese, sugar - and then continue to mix it whilst adding eggs, cocoa and cooled melted milk chocolate. You could use dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate, but it's a very rich cheesecake and I find the milk chocolate just takes a slight edge off the finished pud. I also toyed with the idea of adding caramel milk chocolate which I think would also be fabulous
Once this creamy mixture is ready, we pile it all on top of the chilled base and pop it in the oven for around 60 minutes. When it's ready, the centre of the cheesecake should have a slight wobble. Then we turn off the oven, leave the oven door ajar and walk away for an hour. Once it's had this time to finish, it should be chilled in the refrigerator.
It's a great dessert to make the day before a dinner party to get ahead - just allow it to come to room temperature for 30-60 mins before you serve it and then sprinkle the top with cocoa powder. And raspberries are a great finishing touch as they help to cut through the richness of the dessert.
If you love chocolate, you should definitely make this. It's beautiful, rich, totally chocolatey.
If you love cheesecake, it's a definite must!
Milk Chocolate Cheesecake
adapted from Eric Lanlard's Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 125G UNSALTED BUTTER
- 250G CHOCOLATE BOURBON BISCUITS
- 200G FULL FAT CREAM CHEESE (at room temperature)
- 400G MASCARPONE CHEESE (at room temperature)
- 75G CASTER SUGAR
- 3 LARGE EGGS
- 40G COCOA POWDER
- 100G MILK CHOCOLATE (in small pieces)
Method
- Grease a 7 inch cake tin with butter and then base line it with baking paper
- Put the bourbon biscuits into a food processor and blitz until they ressemble fine crumbs
- Melt the butter and then mix it together with the crushed biscuit
- Press the biscuits into the base of the tin, pressing down so they form a layer with no gaps
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Once the base has been chilled, pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees (fan)
- Melt the milk chocolate and set aside
- Put the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar into a stand mixer and beat together until smooth
- Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer on medium speed
- Add the cocoa and continue to mix
- Finally add the melted chocolate with the mixer still running at medium speed
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure that all the ingredients are fully incorporated
- Spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base
- Bake for around an hour - when the cheesecake's ready it should be well risen and have a slight wobble in the middle
- Turn off your oven, open the door slightly and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour
- Then refrigerate until you're ready to serve (if you want to take away the chill, remove it from the fridge 30-60 mins before serving)
- Dust with cocoa powder and serve simply with raspberries
- Enjoy with friends who don't calorie count ;-)