Recipe: Baked Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

For our 7th wedding anniversary, I decided to partially brake my vow against sugar entering my kitchen, and bake a cheesecake. It was a full monty of a cheesecake with a crispy biscuity base, a layer of vanilla flavoured cream resting atop a layer of milk chocolate cream cheese and all these covered with a rich, thick and velvety dark chocolate glaze. It was definitely one of the most decadent and rich desserts I ever made!

My anniversary being on the 6th of May, the web was overflew with Cinco de Mayo recipes for all types of Mexican flavoured desserts. I have nothing to do with the Mexican cuisine apart from the occational quesadilla but I used to be very well acquainted with the delectable concoction that is Dulce de Leche! Alas the inexplicable absence of any type condensed milk in Croatian super markets led me down a slightly different  road than the one taken by The Brown Eyed Baker from whom I got the inspiration for this seriously sinful dessert. 

Baked Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake
Adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker
For the Crust:
100g (3.5 oz) of digestive biscuits, crushed into crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Milk Chocolate Filling:
1 tub (175g/ 6 oz) Philadelphia with Milka cream cheese or any other brand of cream cheese with chocolate, at room temperature
100g (3.5 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
For the Vanilla Filling:
275g (9.7 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
For the Dark Chocolate Glaze:
170g (6 oz) good quality chocolate 70% cacao, chopped
100g (3.5 oz) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup (glucose syrup)
Instructions
For the Crust:
Preheat oven to 160C / 325F. Line the bottom and the sides of a 20cm / 8-inch square pan with paper, leaving enough to hang over the edges (it will function as a handle when we pull out the baked cheesecake).

Grind the biscuits together with the sugar in the food processor. While grinding, add the melted butter and blend until they combine. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of the paper lined baking pan. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes.

For the Milk Chocolate Filling:
Beat the two types of cream cheese in the mixer for 5 minutes, until they are light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating. Add the egg and keep beating at medium speed until it is well absorbed scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

Spread evenly the milk chocolate cream cheese mixture over the biscuit crust. Place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes until the mixture holds firm. 

For the Vanilla Filing:
While the milk chocolate layer is chilling in the fridge, repeat the procedure to make the vanilla filling. Beat the cream cheese for 5 minutes until light and fluffy, add the sugar, beat more, add the egg and incorporate and finally add the vanilla essence. 

Spread evenly over the milk chocolate layer and place in the fridge for 10 minutes. Bake in the oven for 45 - 55 minutes until the centre only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before refrigerating it for at least 3 hours. 

For the Glaze:
Heat the chocolate, butter and syrup in very low heat, stirring continuously until it becomes smooth. Take the pan out of the fridge and pour the glaze evenly over the cheesecake. Put it back in the fridge for 30 more  minutes. 

Serve:
Lift the cheesecake from the pan using the "paper handles" and slice into squares using a sharp knife, wiping it clean after each cut. 

2 comments:

  1. I'd have to scrape off the chocolate, but that means I can eat a half dozen pieces, right? This does look delicious. Happy belated anniversary!

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    1. Yes! apart from the chocolate it has only 2 eggs, half a cup of sugar, you can use low fat cream cheese, light digestives (and a bit of honey to bind them together) and you have a completely different cheesecake with lower calories and fat but with as good a taste as the other one! I would have gone for the lower calorie version hadn't been for my hubby who wanted to mark the 7th year with a full blown "sinful" everything ;) Thank you for your wishes!

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