Happy New Year! Here’s a delightful cheesecake recipe for you to say thanks for all your wonderful support in 2014, and to look forward to a tasty 2015 together. It’s almost time to dust-down your favourite healthy recipes and get cracking on that January help-me-feel-better-about-scoffing-twenty-seven-mince-and-drinking-everyday regime, but for one final foray into indulgence before you start to be all ‘New year, New you’, here’s a simple and sumptuous cheesecake recipe. I love it because it involves no-baking as such, but has a wonderful light and moussey texture which is just so moreish, with different layers of chocolate and blackberry which just go so nicely together. I created this for Cuisinart and these pics were food styled by me and taken by food photographer David Griffen. I hope you enjoy and let me know how you find the recipe.
Blackberry and chocolate cheesecake
200g dark chocolate (70% or above)
175g dark chocolate digestives
75g melted unsalted butter
pinch of salt
400ml double cream
400ml cream cheese
100g caster sugar
150g blackberries, fresh or frozen, plus extra for garnish
- Line a 20cm greased springform cake tin with baking parchment.
- Melt your chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, being sure that the bowl is not touching the water. While it’s melting, blitz your digestives in two batches in the mini- chopper, until they’re the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. In a bowl mix them with the melted butter and salt until well-coated. Pour them onto the base of the cake tin, and pack them in by smoothing them down with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until you assemble the cheesecake.
- When your chocolate has melted to a smooth consistency, remove it from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Whip your cream until it’s just past soft peaks, and then slowly and carefully fold in the melted chocolate until it’s fully combined. Chill in the fridge.
- Beat your cream cheese with the sugar and blackberries until it’s purple, thick and smooth. Now combine half of the blackberry mixture with the chocolate one, stirring until it’s fully incorporated.
- Pour three quarters of the combined chocolate and blackberry mixture onto the biscuit base, and smooth down with the back of a spoon. On top of this, pour over the remaining purple blackberry mix and smooth. Top with the last bit of chocolate and blackberry and smooth. Chill and then garnish with coco powder and blackberries.