Happy Fathers' Day + No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads out there!

This year Fathers' Day has fallen a mere 2 days after my and my husband's birthdays (yes we have the same birthday!). I wanted to make sure we celebrated both occasions properly without going overboard so I decided we would skip a birthday cake this year and just go with something extra yummy for dessert for Fathers' Day.

This has worked out perfectly as we went out for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant for our birthday and between dinner and dessert we definitely didn't need cake as well!

I have been tossing up dessert ideas for weeks now but when it came to the crunch it had to be chocolate. My husband is a die-hard chocaholic and I'm known as the cheesecake queen around here, so really what else would I make? Ha!

This is an easy no-bake cheesecake which has a lovely creamy texture and a deep chocolate flavour. It is fructose free (as I am attempting to do whenever I bake these days) but you could easily substitute in regular sweet biscuits for the base and normal sugar for the filling, but maybe just cut it back a little.

I made this the day before and allowed it to chill overnight which I think gives the best results, although it would be set in as as little as 4 hours if you were pushed for time.

Served with fresh strawberries it was the perfect finish to our Fathers' Day lunch of Beef and Guinness Pie with mushy peas. Yum!

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe by me

For the base:
150g plain sweet biscuits (mine were sugar-free from Aldi)
50g almond meal or LSA
50g dessicated coconut
1/4 cup raw cacao
110g melted butter

For the filling:
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups cream
1 cup dextrose (or regular white sugar if preferred)
2 ts vanilla extract
150g dark chocolate, melted
4 ts gelatine
1/4 cup hot water

Extra chocolate to decorate, optional

Line the base of an 8 inch spring-form pan with baking paper and set aside. Using a food processor, crush the biscuits into a fine crumb. Add the other dry ingredients and pulse to mix. Add the melted butter and blitz until well combined. Pour the crumbs into the prepared tin and smooth over the base and about halfway up the sides. Place in the fridge to set.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the hot water and allow to bloom (it will become thick and lumpy). Microwave on high for about 20 seconds until it is fully dissolved then set aside to cool.

Wipe out the food processor bowl then add the cream cheese and whiz until smooth. Add the dextrose and process for another minute or so until it is dissolved. Scrape the sides then add the cream, vanilla and melted chocolate and process for another minute. Finally add the cooled gelatine mixture and whiz for 2 minutes until thoroughly combined.

Pour over the prepared base then refrigerate until set, a few hours at least or overnight. Decorate the top with extra grated chocolate and serve with sliced strawberries. Serves 8-10.

Lime Cheesecake with Gingernut Crust

Happy St Paddy's Day! While I did make this today, the fact that it is actually St Patrick's Day was just a happy coincidence. We were supposed to be having friends over for curry but a burst water pipe (at their place) and 2 screaming kids who missed their nap (at our place) put an end to our dinner plans.

Luckily there was still a cheesecake to be eaten, and cheesecake makes just about anything better!

This is a variation on Dorie Greenspan's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake from Baking: From My Home to Yours. I first made it for Tuesday's with Dorie a few years ago and it has been my go-to cheesecake ever since, with a different flavour each time.

I love the combination of lime and ginger here. While it doesn't have the same zing as my Key Lime Cheesecake which includes a layer of lime curd, when topped with a pillowy cloud of whipped cream this is creamy cheesecake heaven. Enjoy!

Lime Cheesecake with Gingernut Crust

For the cheesecake:
500g (2 boxes) cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cream
2 large eggs
2/3 cup rice malt syrup (or white sugar)
Juice and zest of 2 small limes
1 ts vanilla

For the crust:
1 pack gingernut biscuits
100g melted butter

To decorate:
1 cup whipped cream
Zest of 1 lime

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius / 160 degrees fan-forced. Lightly grease a 20cm springform pan and line the base with baking paper.

To make the crust, place the biscuits in the food processor and blitz until fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until well combined. Bake for approx 10 minutes. It should smell toasty and fragrant. Remove and allow to cool, then wrap the outside of the pan in 2 layers of alfoil.

Reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees celsius / 140 degrees fan-forced.

To make the cheesecake filling, first wipe out the bowl and blade of the food processor (no need to wash it as long as there are no crumbs left). Add the cream cheese and process until smooth. Add the rice malt syrup and process for 1 minute, add the cream and sour cream and process for 1 minute, add the eggs and process for 1 minute, then add the lime juice and zest  and vanilla and process for 3 minutes.

Pour into the prepared base. Place the springform pan into a large roasting dish. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up with sides of the springform pan. It can be safer to do this once the roasting pan is already in the oven.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown and the cheesecake is set with just a slight wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and leave for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, remove the cheesecake from its water bath and place it on a rack to cool to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Just prior to serving, smooth the whipped cream over the top and sprinkle with lime zest.

Serves 8-10.

Oh and as we ended up having to freeze most of this, I can personally vouch for the fact that this cheesecake tastes AMAZING frozen!

Christmas Baking with Lucky Nuts

Recently I received a lovely gift bag of nuts from Lucky courtesy of Product Talk by Nuffnang. Just look at that haul! As a baker it made me very, very happy especially in the lead-up to Christmas which is the time of year when I cook with nuts.

I grew up watching my mum use Lucky nuts in her Christmas baking and they are what I turn to for special occasion baking too. I didn't actually realise it but Lucky almonds are all grown in Australia and in fact Lucky is the leading cooking nut brand in Australia, so they are definitely doing something right!

In case you can't see well enough I received a bag each of blanched, slivered and flaked almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, almond and hazelnut meals and 2 new products which I was very excited about.

Firstly was a bag of Easy Chef Oven Roasted Almond Meal, which as the packet says it basically a cheesecake base in a bag. So of course I had to make a cheesecake!

Secondly was a bag of Easy Chef Almond Crumble which is a mix of almond meal, flaked and slivered almonds with oats and again as the packet says, is a crumble topping in a bag. Perfect.

The walnuts didn't make it into my baking but I enjoyed them as a tasty mid-morning snack during the week. The pine nuts are set aside for pesto and the almond meal will be used in a gluten free almond shortbread recipe I am working on for Christmas. The blanched almonds will of course be decorating the tops of my Christmas cakes which aren't ready to bake yet.

I ended up making 4 desserts, perfect for Christmas for anytime really - some moist Choc Hazelnut Cakes, a Panforte Ice Cream, Almond Cheesecake and Blueberry Crumble Pie.I'm trying to cut back on sugar so some of my recipes use Natvia.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and if you would like to try any Lucky products for yourself, the full range is available in Coles with a smaller range available in Woolies and independent grocery stores.

Almond Cheesecake

Adapted from Lucky

For the crust
125g unsalted butter, melted
250g packet Lucky Oven Roasted Almond Meal
1 tbs Natvia for Baking (or 2tbs brown sugar)

For the filling
500g cream cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup Natvia for Baking (or 3/4 cup caster sugar)
2 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure cream
1/2 cup Lucky Flaked Almonds, toasted*

Lightly grease and line the base of a 23cm springform pan.

Mix together the Lucky Oven Roasted Almond Meal with the melted butter and Natvia. Spoon into the prepared tin and press over the base and up the sides. Place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees fan-forced).

In a food processor or electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and Natvia until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla and cream and beat for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared base and bake for 35-40 minutes or until cheesecake is lightly golden and just set in the middle.

Remove and allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Decorate with toasted almonds. Serves 8-10.

Panforte Ice Cream

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, p68

1 cup full cream milk
1/3 cup Natvia for Baking (or white sugar)
1/2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts ground cloves
1/4 ts ground nutmeg
Zest of 1 orange
2 cups pure cream
4 large egg yolks
1 x 110g pack Lucky Slivered Almonds, toasted*

Warm the milk, Natvia/sugar, spices and orange zest in a medium saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to steep for 30 minutes. Add the cream and rewarm the mixture.

In another large bowl whisk the egg yolks.

Pour the warm milk/cream over the yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until it thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Mix thoroughly.

Place the bowl into an ice bath and stir the custard until it is cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge before churning in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the toasted almonds in the last few minutes of churning.

* To toast almonds place them on a large ungreased oven tray and bake at 170 degrees celsius for 10-12 minutes, stirring several times. Leave to cool    

Makes approx 1 litre.


Moist Choc Hazelnut Cakes

Adapted from Curtis Stone

90g Lucky hazelnut meal
125g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
125g butter
pinch of salt
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
65g caster sugar
Plain flour for dusting (can use gluten free flour)
Butter for greasing
Raspberries for serve

Place a baking tray in the oven and preheat to 180 degrees celsius fan forced. Grease the inside of 6 metal dariole molds with butter and dust with flour. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir in the butter and remove from the heat.

Place the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5-7 minutes or until light, pale and foamy. Fold the melted chocolate into the eggs and then the hazelnut meal, mixing gently until well combined.

Spoon evenly into the prepared molds, place on the baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes, before turning out onto serving plates. Dust each one with icing sugar and serve with fresh raspberries. Makes 6.


Blueberry Crumble Pie

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Double Crusted Blueberry Pie in Baking from My Home to Yours, p361

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs sugar
280g salted butter, very cold and cut into tablespoon size pieces
68g coconut oil, cold
About 1/2 cup ice water

Put the flour and sugar in a food processor and pulse just to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and coconut oil and pulse only until the butter and coconut oil are cut into the flour. Gradually add the water, a few tablespoons at a time, until the dough is moist and clumpy. You want to see some pieces of butter. Check to see if the dough will stick together if pinched, and keep pulsing until it does.

Tip the dough out onto a piece of cling wrap, bring it together into a disc and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface or in between 2 pieces of baking paper. Lay the dough out into a greased 9 inch pie pan and trim the edges. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Blind bake the pastry shell for 20 minutes, then remove the lining and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Filling
1 x 500g pack frozen blueberries
2 tbs sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs cornflour mixed with 2 tbs water

Place the blueberries, sugar and lemon zest and juice in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the blueberries have thawed. Add the cornflour and water and cook for a further few minutes until the liquid has thickened and is clear and syrupy. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Crumble
1 pack Lucky Almond Crumble
80g unsalted butter
2 tbs raw sugar
1/2 ts ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl mix together the Almond Crumble, sugar and cinnamon. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until well combined..

To assemble
Spoon the filling into the prepared pie shell. Sprinkle over the crumble topping evenly over the filling leaving a small gap around the edges to show the gorgeous colour of the blueberries.

Bake in a preheated 180 degree oven (160 degrees fan forced) for approx 20 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving with a big dollop of cream.

This recipe makes 1 large 9 inch pie or 4 smaller pies.

Note - this is not a sponsored post however I did receive product for consideration. For more information see Product Talk by Nuffnang.

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I've made a lot of cheesecakes over the years like these here, here and here. But I can't even remember the last time I made a no-bake one! So in honour of my dad coming to dinner I decided to make this no-bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

The taste test ...

Wow, seriously good! The filling is smooth and light and the natural yoghurt gives it a lovely tangy creaminess. I actually chopped the chocolate rather than grated it so I had a few bigger chunks of chocolate that sank to the bottom. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Served with fresh strawberries this was the perfect make-ahead dessert and a great alternative when you don't have time for a baked cheesecake. Two thumbs up!!!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Recipe by me

250g chocolate chip biscuits
100g melted butter
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 x 400g tin condensed milk
300ml natural yoghurt
1 ts vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate, grated
3 ts gelatine
1/4 cup hot water

Line the base of an 8 inch springform pan with baking paper and set aside. Using a food processor, crush the biscuits into a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and blitz until well combined. Pour the crumbs into the prepare tin and smooth over the base and about halfway up the sides. Place in the fridge to set.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the hot water and set aside for a few minutes then stir to make sure it is completely disolved.

Wipe out the food processor bowl then add the cream cheese and whiz until smooth. Add the condensed milk, yoghurt and vanilla and mix well. Add the cooled gelatine mixture and whiz for 1 minute until thoroughly combined. Tip in the grated chocolate and blitz to mix through.

Pour over the prepared base then refrigerate until set, a few hours at least or overnight. Serve with sliced strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar. Serves 8-10.

Fridays with Dorie: Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

I've always thought if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. Could that be the reason I am 3 days late in posting?

I had really high hopes for this recipe. I mean, chocolate and cheesecake? How can it go wrong? Ummm. Sorry to say but this was bad. BAD. I always make cheesecakes in a waterbath. It keeps the temperature consistent, cooks evenly and ensures a silky, luscious texture. The fact that this recipe did not require a waterbath had me nervous from the get go.

I had the temperature slightly lower than stated and also gave it less time. Still I ended up with a very, very, very solid cheesecake. Something like a block of cheddar cheese. The taste? Not good enough to make up for the fact it was so damn hard. That I was serving this on Christmas Eve and not one of us could even finish a piece? Not happy, Jan.

On the plus side the crust was fabulous! One of the best ever. I used crushed granita biscuits and brown sugar which resulted in a caramelly flavour that I loved.

Another huge plus was the Spiced Cranberry Sauce I served with the cheesecake. This was its saving grace and I will definitely be making it again. And again. And again. You get the idea!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Adapted from here

300g frozen cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
Juice and zest of one orange (remove the zest in wide strips using a vegetable peeler)
1 cinnamon stick
1 x 2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
Juice of 1 lime

Place all ingredients except the cranberries into a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the cranberries are soft but still mostly whole.

Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick, ginger and orange zest. Can be served warm or cold.

Option - strain the the liquid, squashing the cranberries to remove all the juice. Cool completely. Add 2 tablespoons to a champagne flute and top up with sparkling wine.

My apologies to The Tea Lady for stuffing up her pick somehow. I was so disappointed. Make sure you check out her blog for a successful version. I adore chocolate cheesecake so am tempted to have a go again, this time using a waterbath. Fingers crossed!

Caramel Swirl Cheesecake

Maybe I should rename this blog cheesecake.baby instead, as I seem to make a lot of them! I realised I wanted cheesecake quite on the spur of the moment, having begun devouring a packet of butternut snap biscuits and thinking how perfect they would be for a crumb base.

I started with Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake recipe and then tweaked it a little. Can I just say again how much I adore this recipe? Seriously, the BEST one ever. That and the fact it calls for my little cheesecake to 'luxuriate in a waterbath'. Gets me every time!

Caramel Swirl Cheesecake - Cheats Version

Base

250g buttersnap biscuits (or your favourite plain sweet biscuit)
125g unsalted butter, melted

Caramel

1 tin of caramel top and fill (basically a premade condensed milk caramel - you can definitely make this yourself but with cats and a baby I don't want to worry about exploding tins!)

Cheesecake

500g cream cheese (2 packs) at room temp
2/3 cup sour cream at room temp
2 eggs at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
2 ts vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease an 8" springform pan and wrap the outside in 2 layers of alfoil. Set aside. For the base, blitz your biscuits in the food processor then pour in the melted butter and combine well. Press over the base of the pan and up the sides as much as you can (I got about 2cm).

Wipe out the food processor bowl to remove any crumbs.

Blitz the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth (about 4 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about a minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream and process for a few minutes. The mixture will become smooth and velvety.

Pour about half the cheesecake mixture into the prepared base. Spoon teaspoonfuls of caramel randomly over the top. Pour over the remaining cheesecake mix and dot with more caramel (it will sink during the baking). Drag a butterknife through the mixture to create swirls of caramel, being careful not to touch the biscuit base. (I totally forgot to do this step and ended up with blobs of caramel. Still delicious).

Place your springform pan inside a baking dish. Pour boiling water into the baking pan, until the water reaches about halfway up the side the springform pan. Carefully place in the oven.

Bake at 160 degrees C for about an hour. Turn the oven off and leave your cheesecake to 'luxuriate in its waterbath' for another hour. Remove the pan from the water, allow to cool then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Serve with an extra drizzle of caramel (not that it needs it). Delicious!!!

Jaffa Cheesecake for Father's Day

My very savvy grandfather purchased a unit at Burleigh on the Gold Coast back in the 70s, before the Gold Coast had really become the place to be. Since then that unit has become the gathering point for our whole family and I can remember many happy christmases with aunts and uncles and my 4 cousins. Now we are all grown up and between us my cousins and I have 6 kids of our own.

This past father's day we all (18 of us) gathered again at the park over the road from our grandparent's unit (and right next to the beach). It was N's first father's day and a really special day all round.

Being the cheesecake queen I of course made a cheesecake to share. N wanted a jaffa cheesecake (choc-orange) and I was happy to oblige. I started with Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake and added the zest and juice of 1 orange to the filling, a chocolate biscuit base and decorated with whipped cream and jaffas. I totally forgot to take any pics on the day so I dressed up the mini I made with the leftovers. Yum!

I am such a fan of this particular recipe. Despite loads of cream cheese (4 packs!) it makes a soft, fluffy and somehow light cheesecake that doesn't weigh you down.

And for the all-important father's day pressie ...

Oscar and I had a fun afternoon at Inky Feet where we ended up with some lovely keepsakes including mugs, wall tiles and a clock. Lucky we didn't leave it any later than 3 months because his feet would have been too big. They only just made it as it was! Grandpa got a mug with red feet and they were each filled to the brim with homemade Espresso Chocolate Truffles.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Being on a bit of a brownie bender at the moment I was happy to see another brownie pick this week. And the fact that these were cheesecake brownies was just another reason to smile! I seem to be leaving TWD to the very last minute these days. I whipped them up about 2pm today and got my photo out on the verandah in the last few moments of daylight.

The taste test ...

Boy, these were rich! A big thumbs up from my number one taste tester but he's right, you definitely can't have more than 1 piece at a time. I did make the sour cream topping intending to serve it on the side but to be honest they don't need anything else.

Thanks to Melissa of Life in a Peanutshell for this week's pick. Make sure you vist her blog for the recipe and some gorgeous pics!