It’s Sunday, and my small group had lunch together at one of our houses. I was tasked with making one of the desserts, so I whipped up this espresso cheesecake. The pre-lunch snacks and the amazing roast ham and salads left very little room for dessert, but most of us managed to squeeze in a slice of this cheesecake and another of lemon meringue tart. There have been requests for my recipe, so here it is.
There are several similar recipes online but all require cooking the cake in the oven in a water bath and wrapping the tin in an oven-safe plastic bag. No need for that with my recipe, although you can try it if you wish. If you make it as recommended below, I can almost guarantee you’ll have happy diners wanting the recipe for themselves!
You’ll need to start making this recipe the day before you eat it as it requires a long cook followed by cooling in the oven and then an overnight rest in the refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS
For the base:
- 2 cups Oreo crumbs (I used two whole packets of choc Oreos)
- 60g unsalted butter
For the filling:
- 3 x 250g packets cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brewed espresso coffee
- 3 large eggs
For the ganache:
- 1 cup dark choc chips
- 1/2 cup thickened cream
- 1 tablespoon white rum (optional)
- dark chocolate for garnish
Preheat oven to 125 degrees C (257 F). Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature.
Place the biscuits in a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the crumb, mixing well to combine. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the base of a 22cm spring form pan, and up the sides if you wish. Use a drinking glass to press the crumb neatly into the edge to obtain an even thickness.
Pre-bake the crust in the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow it to cool to room temperature.
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and espresso coffee and beat until well combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed until just mixed, about 1 minute. Pour the batter onto the cooled crust and bake in the oven for 75 minutes or until the cheesecake looks firm but has a slight wobble at the centre. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake to cool to room temperature in the oven. Then place in the refrigerator until chilled, preferably overnight.
Meanwhile, make the ganache. Place the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream (and rum if using) to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and pour the cream over the chocolate chips. Allow to rest for 1-2 minutes, then stir well until the mixture has no lumps. Allow to cool for 5-7 minutes.
To assemble, carefully remove the cheesecake from the spring form pan, place it on a serving plate, and spread the chocolate ganache over the top, smoothing it with an offset spatula. Coarsely grate chocolate over the cheesecake to garnish. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container until needed, 1-2 days.
iDigress 