Cheesecakes, especially those containing chocolate, are a perennial favourite. This is a winner with my family.
Prep time: 40 minutes | Chilling time: minimum 4 hours | Serves: 10
Ingredients:
Base
1 x 250–300 gram packet chocolate cookies
1 x 70 gram packet hazelnuts, roasted and skinned
100 grams butter, melted
Raspberry purée
500 grams frozen raspberries, thawed
White chocolate filling
1 tablespoon gelatin
¼ cup cold water
250 grams white chocolate
1¼ cups cream
250 grams crème fraîche
¼ cup Greek-style yoghurt
¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Method:
Base
Process the chocolate cookies and hazelnuts in a food processor until lightly crushed. Pour in the melted butter and pulse to combine. Press into the base of a 23 cm baking paper-lined, springform cake tin and refrigerate until required.
White chocolate filling
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and leave to swell. Dissolve by heating in the microwave for 15 seconds on High or stand the bowl over hot water. Set aside.
Grate half the white chocolate and set aside. Chop the remaining chocolate into pieces and heat with ¼ cup of the cream in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth; cool.
In a large bowl, beat the remaining cream until thick. Stir in the grated chocolate, crème fraîche, yoghurt, sugar and vanilla with the melted white chocolate mix and gelatin.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Remove from the cake tin to serve, garnished with extra grated chocolate and Raspberry purée if wished.
Raspberry purée
Put the raspberries though a mouli or process in a food processor and then sieve to make a smooth sauce. Sweeten to taste with icing sugar.
Gelatin
Gelatin is available in sheets, called leaf gelatin, or powder. Both are interchangeable, though I find using the powder by far the easiest. Leaf gelatine must be softened in cool water for 5 minutes, then squeezed to remove all the moisture before being added to the hot liquid to melt completely.
Powdered gelatin needs to be ‘sponged’ in cold water, not alcohol where it will not dissolve,
and then placed over a bowl of warm water to melt (this can alsobe done in the microwave, but only requires a little heating to melt it – too much heat and it will turn stringy).
How much?
3 teaspoons of gelatin will set 600 ml liquid. More is required for richer, thicker custard-like mixtures.
1 ½ teaspoons gelatin = 1 sheet leaf gelatine
Reprinted with permission from Good Food Made Simple by Allyson Gofton. Published by Penguin Group (NZ). RRP $50.00. Available at all good booksellers nationwide.
Copyright text and recipes © Allyson Gofton, 2013. Copyright photography © Allan Gillard, 2013.
