Yeeeeeeeeessssssssss. It is indeed well and truly alive! Of course, I must address any ambiguities and confirm that I do in fact refer to my neglected blogspot and not Frankenstein's Monster (Module B whatuppp).
You know your life's hit a real low point when you begin to procrastinate doing the things you do to procrastinate (cough):
I suck at blogging. By that I don't mean my writing skills suck (stop laffing, please) or that I do not know how to use the internet, but I just have some sort of force within me (wot) that refuses to co-operate and dutifully post recipes and an accompanying cool-story-bro anecdote as soon as I re-acquaint myself with the oven. So yes, I can't promise that I'll regularly blog or anything, but the point is I'M HERE AND I'M POSTING HI LOOK AT ME HI YES I'M REALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look, I haven't been sleeping well lately alright.
AHEM. So, while I sit here and watch little kids dance around (Schools Spectacular, not some creepy form of voyeurism) and wait for my cinnamon buns to prove, I bring to you, a recipe!!!!!!!!! Not just any recipe; a cheesecake.
Ain't she pretty.
This here is my rendition of Nigella Lawson's chocolate cheesecake. It was made for a friend's birthday and devoured by an eager bunch of teens, one of whom had a dislike for cheesecakes (WHAT!!!!) which was quickly turned around after a slice of this. And you thought miracles didn't exist ;)As tasty as it was, I do have some things to say about this lil old cake:
- As cheesecakes don't rise, I was a little underwhelmed by the low height of the cheesecake. The whipped cream and strawberries were actually an attempt to make it look more 'impressive' lulz
- See those white dots? They're not white chocolate chips or anything delicious. Lumps. LUMPS (lovely lady lumps). LUMPS OF COLD, DAMNED CREAM CHEESE. Although the people who ate it said they wouldn't even have realised had I not pointed it out (damnit!), the lumps bothered the crap out of me. I did learn, however, and I will ensure that with future cheesecakes the cream cheese IS ABSOLUTELY ROOM TEMPERATURE before I start. It also helps to give it a good whipping (wchh!) on its own before other ingredients are added.
Thank you for reading this post, whoever you may be, and I apologise for my madness. Ur wheely kool <3
Happy Baking!
Chocolate Cheesecake (Adapted from Nigella Lawson)
For the base:
- 125g digestive biscuits
- 60g soft unsalted butter
- 1tbsp cocoa powder
For the filling:
- 175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 500g cream cheese
- 150g caster sugar
- 1tbsp custard powder
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 150mL sour cream
- ½ tsp cocoa powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water
- 1. preheat the oven to 180ºc. process the biscuits in a food processor until they turn to crumbs. add the cocoa powder and butter, processing until the mixture begins to clump together.2. press firmly into the bottom of a 23cm base springform tin. chill in the fridge while you make the filling.3. melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, and set aside to cool.4. in either an electric stand mixer (whisk attachment) or with a handheld mixer, mix the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. add the sugar and custard powder until well combined.5. add the eggs and egg yolks and beat until just combined. then add the dissolved cocoa powder and the melted chocolate. beat until well combined.6. take the tin out of the fridge and cover the outside with two good layers of aluminium foil. if your foil isn’t of a decent quality/thickness, do a third layer or the cake will be at risk of water seeping in! pour the cheesecake filling into the tin.7. place the tin into a large baking tin and pour in some water until it comes halfway up the sides of the tin. bake for one hour (check it at 45 minutes) or until the sides are jut set, but the middle is still a little bit wobbly.8. removes the tin from the water bath and peel away the foil. allow the cheesecake to cool completely in its tin, before placing the cheesecake (still in its tin) in the fridge overnight.9. remove the cheesecake from the tin and if desired, decorate with whipped cream and strawberries, or any other topping of your choice :)
/NOTE: the blogger format is refusing to co-operate and won't let me use capital letters in the recipe section for some reason. it's ridiculous but true, so please don't think i lack basic grammar skills due to the lack of capital letters at the start of sentences!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
