Chocolate cheese cake

Sorry for the lack of recipes recently. First of all I had a very nasty wrist sprain where it was too painful to type and then my computer decided to play up and getting on here was impossible.

And now I've hit the summer madness. This time of year is always tricky, apart from the usual 'end of academic year' stuff it's birthday season. We are a family of 4 and 3 of our birthdays are within 2 weeks and the last is only a month later. Franky even I can get sick of the sight of cake. So for my darling husband's birthday I opted out of cake and made a chocolate cheese. If you know my husband this would make perfect sense, the marriage of cheese and chocolate is simply his idea of heaven.

Chocolate cheese cake may sound easy. It is but getting a gluten free one that we could guarantee was free from nuts and palm oil required a bit of adapting from the old 'bash-up some digestive biscuits' method. This one is double-choc as the base is chocolately too and it is easily adapted.....

Who can eat it?

It's vegetarian, egg free (not all cheese cakes are), gluten and wheat free and nut free BUT I can actually do a vegan and dairy free 'I can't believe it's not cheese cake' version too!

Who can't eat it?

If you are on a reducing diet then you will have to pass, the vegan version is somewhat healthier being lower in calories and fat but it is still very rich. This really is a special occasion dish. 

Ingredients

  For the base

• 150g well crushed gluten free breakfast flakes
• 45g of melted butter or cocoa butter (cocoa butter is vegan) 
• 50g caster sugar 
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder 
• a pinch of salt

For the topping (regular version, the vegan version is lower down the blog)

• 120ml whipping cream
• 150g dark chocolate, melted and cooled 
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with a little hot water to form a runny paste
• 200g cream cheese 
• 90g caster sugar
• 8 strawberries (optional)

Note: make sure you choose chocolate and coco powder are good quality and gluten free, not all is.

This dish is best made in a 7 inch spring-form tin. If like me you don't have one use a sandwich tin liner in a 7 inch sandwich tin. You should grease the inside of the tin or liner with a little of which ever butter you are using.

Combine the ingredients for the base, mixing well. Spread evenly across the base of your tin and pop in the freezer.

Whip the cream into soft peaks then fold in the melted chocolate and cocoa paste.
In a separate bowl whisk the cream cheese with the caster sugar. Add the cheese mix to the cream mixture and gently fold until evenly combined.

Now gently spread the mixture evenly over the base and return to the freezer for an hour before transferring to the fridge. Just before serving slice some strawberries in half and arrange around the top.

Yum!!

The vegan version.

This is a recipe I usually turn into frozen chocolate push pops for my children. You will need:

• 2 very ripe avocados (yes really!)
• 70g of cocoa powder
• a large pinch of good quality, finely milled salt.
• 150g of maple syrup (or golden syrup if you are stuck) 
• 60g of cocoa butter (melted)

In a food processor blend the avocado, while processing add the cocoa powder and salt then the maple syrup, then finally add the melted cocoa butter. As this cools it is just about possible to pop it into a bowl and whisk it to get more air in but it is rarely worth the bother. Carefully spread this over your frozen base and return to the freezer for about 40 minutes before moving over to the fridge.

If the thought of avocado in a desert is too much for you 3 bananas that are going brown but not yet soft will work but it's not as rich, you will also need to miss out the salt, reduce the syrup by about a third and leave in the freezer for about an hour before moving to the fridge for another hour. Like I said this also works well in 'home freeze' push-pop molds as a treat for children.

Serve with strawberries on the top or alternatively try orange or clementine segments with the skins removed.

May you have a yummy time, and remember nice mums let the kids lick the whisks when the mixing is done and REALLY nice mums turn the whisk off first!! xx