Home Cooking - (Not Quite) Nigella's Chocolate Cheesecake

Back in October I was watching Nigella Feasts and there was this one episode which was total chocolate heaven... and I mean absolute chocolate heaven with a deliciously simple old-fashioned chocolate cake, a sinful chocolate cheesecake, chewy triple chocolate brownies and the perfect night-cap, rum-laced hot chocolate. I was staring wide-eyed and open-jawed at the screen as each luscious creation was being formed from glossy melted chocolate, chunks of golden butter, snow-like sugar and various other delectable ingredients.

Coincidentally that same week NQN posted up her Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge so it was the perfect excuse to try out the sinful chocolate cheesecake. Who could resist a creamy, gooey cheesecake with the most potent ingredient in the world.. chocolate! After doing some shopping at nearby Macro supermarket (full of organic goodness with a great cheese counter which I must visit again) I was ready to put on my challenge hat.

Here Comes the Ingredients

Nigella's Sinful Chocolate Cheesecake
Cheesecake base:
1 1/3 c (125g) digestive biscuits
1 tbsp cocoa powder
50-60 g butter

Cheesecake filling:
500 g Philadelphia cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 c castor sugar
3 whole eggs, room temp.
3 egg yolks
2/3 c (150ml) sour cream
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tbsp cocoa powder dissolved in a little bit of water
175 g melted 70% chocolate (double boil or microwave and allowed to cool for a few minutes)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and use a 8 inch round springform pan.

For the base, pound the biscuits in a zip lock bag until crumbly. If using a rolling pin, roll over to ensure there are no big chunks left or can blend. Add the cocoa powder and butter and process until you get the damp, clumping sand texture. Spread out evenly onto base of pan using knuckles or palms as the heat from hands will help the base meld together. Place into freezer while making the filling.

Put kettle on to boil.

For the cheesecake filling, beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl to soften it and then add the sugar and custard powder. Beat in the whole eggs, yolks and then the sour cream. Now add the dissolved cocoa powder and mix.

Pretty chocolate swirls ^^!
Once homogeneous, add the melted chocolate mmmmm.

MMmmmmm should be pouring that into my mouth :P

Another swirl ^^!
Take pan out of the freezer, line the outside with a good layer or 2 of glad wrap and then an outer layer of foil to protect it from the water bath. Place pan into a roasting pan and add the cheesecake filling.

Add the recently boiled water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the cake pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The cheesecake is ready when the top is just set and has a little bit of a wobble.

Post-baking shot
Peel away the layers and sit cake and tin on a cooling rack. Refridgerate when cooled and leave to set overnight with glad wrap covering. Allow it to lose its chill before removing from springform pan.

Finished!
Nigella also had a spectacular chocolate drizzle on top but since I was rushing I did not make one. The reason why I posted this one so late was because I was contemplating whether to enter this one in NQN challenge as it does not look that pretty :( but the taste was very rich and creamy. It was a very dense cheesecake with a tinge of bitterness from either the cocoa or the dark chocolate.

I can't say if this is my best cheesecake or the best recipe but it sure is a good one and definitely worth trying it out. Next time I shall add the chocolate drizzle cos it makes it look pretty and who can deny a rich chocolate drizzle ^^!

Other Cheeseycakey posts:
Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake
The F Word (and I don't mean food this time)


FFichiban