Hot Chocolate Cheesecake

No better excuse to get your Great Nan’s tea set out, Hot Chocolate and Maltesers Cheesecake dip topped with Marshmallow Fluff Cheesecake.

 

As you all know, last weekend was Mother’s Day (in the UK) and I’m sure if you forgot, your mum has been giving you the cold shoulder since. Luckily for me my Twitter feed was full of reminders, numerous bloggers, magazines and retailers were tweeting about the ‘perfect treat for your mum’ for a month prior to her big day.

If you follow Cooperative Food on Twitter you would have seen their promotions for a Mother’s Day #TwitterTeaParty, where bloggers and Cooperative Food shared epic foodie gift ideas. I replied to one of their tweets and Cooperative Food sent my mum some fair trade drinking chocolate as part of their #growingstories campaign.

We have four tea sets sitting in display cabinets around our house, and since I started my blog I have been wanting to incorporate them into a recipe but had no inspiration. The tea cups are made out of bone china and I didn’t want people hacking at the biscuit base, potentially breaking the cups I set out to inherite when I’m older. I thought that inspiration would never come until I had the genius idea of a hot chocolate cheesecake dip, thank you Cooperative Food!

If you’re looking to butter your mum up into forgiving you for forgetting Mother’s Day or you just want a cold cup of Hot Chocolate Cheesecake, these are fab idea! All you will need is; four tea cups and saucers, one piping bag and a Wilton 1m nozzle.

Ingredients 

For filling:

• 300 grams of soft cheese, room temperature
• 3 tbsp of fair trade drinking chocolate
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 25 grams of milk chocolate, melted
• 25 grams of dark chocolate, melted
• 200 ml of double cream, chilled
• 50 grams of malteasers

For decoration:

• 100 grams of soft cheese
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of marshmallow fluff
• 150 ml of double cream, chilled
• mini marshmallows
• drizzle of caramel sauce
• 4 malteasers
• 12 Maryland cookies

Method

Step 1: Place the soft cheese, icing sugar and drinking chocolate powder into your mixer and mix on a medium-low speed until thoroughly combined. To prevent a cloud of chocolaty icing sugar taking over your kitchen, wrap a tea towel over the top of your mixer…

You’d think I would have learned by now. Into the same bowl, add the melted chocolate and stir in quickly to prevent it from splitting.

Step 2:  Pour the chilled double cream into your chocolatey cheese mixture, and whisk on a medium-high speed until it thickens. Before the mix gets too stiff, remove the bowl from the mixer, using a spatula fold in the malteasers. Dust off your tea cups and evenly distribute the cheesecake between the four cups.

Step 3:  Now to make the marshmallow fluff cheesecake decoration. Place the soft cheese, vanilla and heaped dessert spoon of marshmallow fluff into the mixer, and mix on a medium speed. Then add the double cream, and mix until thick enough to pipe. Place the mixture into a piping bag with the open star nozzle and pipe on top of chocolate cheesecake. 

Step 4: Decorate with malteasers, marshmallows and a drizzle of caramel. 

When ready to serve, serve with a biscuit of your choice and dunk ahoy!

Enjoy

B x

Keep up to date by following me on:

Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Advertisement

Double Chocolate Cheesecake

So a lot has happened since I last posted!

Firstly, it is 2016, HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR GUYS!! Fortunately, there will be no “New year New me” attitude on this blog, I can’t say I didn’t contemplate it. I was thinking about going down the route of a raw vegan cheesecake but then I thought, “Nahh” it’s nearly the end of January and you lot have probably all broken your New Years resolutions of kale eating by now. If you are still going strong then I’m here to tempt you 😈. Life is for living and I’m not letting you live another day without some more naughty cheesecake!

I GOT A PUPPY! This is by far the most exciting news I have to tell you. My family is officially a crazy dog family, we have three dogs. THREE! I’m loving it, if only I could go back in time and tell 11 year old (dogless) me that in 12 years I would have THREE dogs. I would love to see her face. Anyway, that is enough of me blabbering. I will show you the little cutie, drum roll pleassssse…

I did ask for his permission to feature on my blog and he said “only if I can bite you”. 🙄 Longing for the day he loves me.

This is probably not that exciting but for me it is, I reached 2000 followers on Instagram!!! I initially started my Instagram account because I felt sorry for all my friends on my personal account being spammed weekly with the same style cheesecake. Starting my Instagram and blog has pushed me to experiment and create different yummy cheesecakes every week! I mean sometimes they fail…

But, that’s what happens when you’re experimenting with recipes, right? I call this success my drunk Bailey’s cheesecake! Obviously, this didn’t make it onto my Instagram, which leads me nicely to my next milestone.. I started a Twitter account! I share everything I create even if it is a giant flop. I also tweet about life and stuff which is probably not that interesting, but it doesn’t stop me. So please feel free to join me on my new Twitter adventure.

Lastly but by no means least, I got a Kitchen Aid. Well, technically my mum got a Kitchen Aid but that’s beside the point, I GOT A KITCHEN AID! Which obviously means this recipe will be featuring my (mum’s) beautiful new toy. This scrumptious ‘Death by Chocolate Cheesecake’ was the first thing I made with it, and boy has it sped up the process of making a cheesecake. It literally takes me half the time and I create half the mess.

You will need an 8 inch loose bottom tin, lined with baking paper. I also bought a new cake nozzle for the fancy ganache decoration; a large closed star nozzle (tip opening 20mm). Make the ganache an hour before serving your cheesecake because when it goes in the fridge it sets quite firm.

Ingredients

For base:

• 200 grams of milk chocolate digestives / Oreo’s
• 90 grams of unsalted butter, melted

For filling:

• 200 grams of dark chocolate, melted
• 100 grams of milk chocolate, melted
• 400 grams of soft/cream cheese, room temperature
• 100 grams of icing sugar
• 30o ml of double cream, chilled

For ganache:

• 300 grams of dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 170 ml of double cream

Decoration:

• 1 punnet of strawberries
• 1 punnet of blueberries
• 1 packet of milk chocolate chunks
• a sprinkle of dried raspberries

Method

Step 1: Place the chocolate biscuits in a large mixing bowl or zip lock bag and crush into a fine crumb, using the end of a rolling pin. Next, add the melted butter into the biscuit crumb.

Mix the butter and biscuit crumb, until thoroughly combined. Pour the buttery biscuit base into a lined loose bottom tin. Press the mixture down with the back of a soup spoon, until the base of your tin is evenly covered in your buttery biscuit. Place the tin in the fridge whilst you make the filling.

Step 2: Before you do anything melt your chocolate over a double boiler (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of your bowl) or in the microwave. Once it is completely melted set it a side to cool.

Step 3: Place the cream cheese and icing sugar into your mixer and whisk on medium high until thoroughly mixed. Make sure you scrape the sides and the bottom, of the bowl with your spatula and then whisk for another minute. 

Step 4: Add your chilled double cream into your soft cheese mixture and whisk again on a medium high speed until the mixture thickens. Make sure you stop every now and again to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Step 5: Scoop a heaped table spoon of the cheesecake mixture into the cooled melted chocolate, and mix really quick. This stops the chocolate going grainy when added to the rest of the mixture. Then add the chocolate paste into your mixer and whisk again on a medium high until the chocolate is throughly mixed. Make sure you again scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Step 6: Remove the loose bottom tin from the fridge, BUT do not get distracted by a cute puppy…

Step 7: Spoon the mixture into the tin and evenly spread with a spatula. Place it in the fridge for 4 hours or over night.

Step 8: Make the ganache before you decide to serve the cheesecake. Finely chop the chocolate and place into a large glass bowl. Heat the double cream on a medium high heat until it is boiling. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chopped chocolate. Cover the bowl and leave for five minutes, then whisk the mixture until completely mixed and glossy. Leave the mixture for 25-30 minutes or until thick enough for piping.

Step 9: Remove cheesecake from the tin and pipe the ganache in a continuous swirling motion around the edge of the cheesecake. Then place the strawberries around the inside of the ganache boarder and fill the centre with chocolate chunks and blueberries. Sprinkle some dried raspberries on top to finish.

Enjoy this delicious naughty double chocolate cheesecake and feel free to join me on my Instagram and Twitter.

B x

Keep up to date by following me on:

Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Strawberry & White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

In May, earlier this year, I made two fruity cheesecakes for my mother and step father’s annual anniversary party. When it was time for pudding I was applauded as my mother showcased them around the room. Although I resembled a tomato, I owned the floor and thanked my adoring fans like a true rock star. Despite my slight over exaggeration of the circumstance, I was deeply complimented by a family friend, who asked if I would make a cheesecake for her and her husbands 30th wedding anniversary party, that took place yesterday.

As much as I love eating cheesecake, I enjoy making them more (probably because I know I get to have a slice, or two, or three..), so I happily obliged. I thought as a fun twist, to one of my favourite cheesecake recipes, I would make strawberry and white chocolate mini cheesecakes. Not only are mini cheesecakes perfect for parties, but it also meant I finally got to try out my new 20 loose bottom cake tin from Lakeland.

Don’t panic if you don’t possess one of these (genius) tins, any muffin / cupcake tin you have in your cupboard will suffice. However, you will need to line each mould individually, so you can easily remove each cheesecake once they have set.

This recipe makes 14-20 mini strawberry and white chocolate cheesecakes depending on the tin you use. Make sure your strawberries are small and are not longer than half the depth of the tin you are using.

Ingredients

For Base

• 125 grams of digestive biscuits
• 50 grams of unsalted butter

For Filling:

• 150 grams of white chocolate
• 200 grams of soft cheese
• 25 grams of icing sugar
• 50 ml of double cream, chilled
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 punnet of small strawberries

For Decoration:

• 1/2 punnet of strawberries
• 200 ml of double cream, chilled
• 1 tbsp of caster sugar

Method

• Step 1: Place the digestive biscuits in a mixing bowl or a large zip lock bag. Use the end of a rolling pin, or tool of your choice, to crush the biscuits into a fine crumb.

• Step 2: Put the unsalted butter in a microwave safe bowl, heat on full power for 5 seconds, take it out and stir. Repeat this step until the butter is completely melted.

• Step 3: Pour the melted butter into the crushed digestive biscuits and mix it together.

• Step 4: Evenly distribute the buttery biscuit mix between each of the moulds.

Use the back of a teaspoon or a press to gently pack the biscuits down.

• Step 5: Pick out the smallest strawberries from both punnets. 

Cut the tops off of each of the strawberries.

Then cut the middle out of the strawberries like so..

Place the inside of the strawberries around the edge of the moulds. Keep repeating this until all the moulds have strawberries around the sides. Once they are all done place the tray in the fridge for the base to set, whilst you make the filling.

• Step 6: Boil the kettle, whilst you break the white chocolate into small chunks. Place the white chocolate into a glass or metal bowl. Once the kettle is boiled, pour an inch or so of water into a pan, that your bowl fits snugly on top of. Make sure the water in the pan is not touching the bottom of the bowl, otherwise the chocolate will burn. This method is called a double boiler.

Keep stirring the chocolate until it is completely melted. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat and place on the side to cool, whilst you resist the urge to dip your finger in.

• Step 7: Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whip 50 ml of chilled double cream, using (preferably) an electric whisk, until it creates soft peaks. If you don’t have an electric whisk this step will take you a while, but don’t give up, keep whipping it until it is stiff 😉

• Step 8: Add the icing sugar into the same mixing bowl as the whipped cream, and fold them together. 

• Step 9: Now add the soft cheese and vanilla extract in to the creamy mix and beat together.

Pour the cooled melted white chocolate into the soft cheese mix.

And beat the mixture together for the last time, if your arm is starting to ache you know you are doing it right!! Plus you won’t feel guilty when you are tucking into these scrumptious cheesecakes because you’ve worked for it! But, try not to eat the filling yet, we’re almost at the finish line!!!!

• Step 10: Remove the tray from the fridge and evenly distribute the chocolate, creamy, cheesy (mmmmm. MUST RESIST!) mixture among each of the moulds.

Keep filling them until all the strawberries are covered. Once all the moulds are full place the tray back in the fridge for three hours or over night.

• Step 11: Run a pointed knife around the top of the mould and push the cheesecakes out. Remember to remove the metal bottom from all the cheesecakes if you are using a loose-based tin. Place the mini cheesecakes on to a large plate. 

• Step 12: Place 200 ml of chilled double cream into a large mixing bowl and stir in the tbsp of caster sugar. Next use an electric or hand whisk to whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Once the cream is whipped spoon it into a piping bag.

• Step 13: Pipe the whipped cream over the top of each cheesecake. I was very generous with the cream and piped it all over the top of each cheesecake.

• Step 14: Cut 10 strawberries in half and place one half on top of each of the mini cheesecakes. *Adjust the amount of strawberries for decoration accordingly to the amount of cheesecakes your batch made.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, as much as, my loyal fans (family friends) who proclaimed these cheesecakes to be the best they have ever eaten.

B x

Hello fellow cheesecake lovers!

Hello and welcome to Becky’s Biscuit Bases.

I regularly create cheesecakes for my family and friends, and on a number of occasions I have been told I should start up my own business selling cheesecakes. As much as I would love to spend everyday making (and eating) cheesecake, I only graduated a year ago and currently have a prospering job as a Business Development Manager for a logistics consulting company. Maybe in a few years when I have some capital to back me I will be able to live that dream. But, for the meantime I will be sharing my creations on here with step by step recipes on how I made them, so you can bake your own cheesecake masterpeice.

B x