Chocolate Baked Cheesecake


I love a baked cheesecake, I know I've said it before but the velvety, fluffy texture wins every time against the firm and creamy cold-set cheesecake types. It's just a personal preference, and although I know they are a bit more work than cheesecakes that are set in the fridge, I believe the reward is worth the labour.

I've already posted a recipe for baked cheesecake , which is made with an amaretti biscuit base, served with cherries (my favourite). I wanted to give a decadent chocolate NY-style cheesecake a go, and thought Father's day would be a good opportunity to share this heavenly-rich recipe.



You will need...
For the biscuit Base
375gr dark chocolate digestive biscuits (I used Scallywags as I'm in Australia and these are the easiest plain chocolate biscuits to find)
3 Tbs double cream
75gr unsalted butter

For the Filling
100gr unsalted butter
350gr dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids is preferable)
450gr cream cheese
100ml sour cream
3 eggs
175gr caster sugar
100gr toasted, skinned and chopped hazelnuts
30ml hazelnut liquor

Method...
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius (150 degrees fan-forced), grease and line a 25cm spring-form cake tin.
2. To make the base, melt the butter then place the biscuits in a food processor and blend until fine crumbs (if you don't have a food processor, place the biscuits in a zip-lock bag and beat them with a mallet or rolling pin)
3. Add the butter and cream to the ground biscuit crumbs and mix well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin and press down to form an even base. Place in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
4. For the filling, place the butter and chocolate into a double-boiler or microwave-safe container, and carefully melt together until smooth and glossy. When melted, remove from the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until smooth, then add the sour cream.
5. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the eggs and the sugar together using an electric mixer until pale in colour and fluffy. Fold in the chocolate mixture, chopped hazelnuts and liquor, being careful not to knock too much air out of the batter.
6. Pour the filling onto the biscuit base and spread out evenly. Place on a tray in the oven to bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes until almost set- the top with wobble slightly and may have a large crack in the top. Turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour to cool. Once cooled for 1 hour in the oven, remove, and while still in its tin, leave to cool on the bench for 1 hour. Finally, transfer it to the fridge to cool completely.
7. To serve, dust with cocoa powder, cut into 8 slices and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.



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