Double Chocolate Cheesecake

 

You might remember a couple of weeks ago I blogged about Artisan Cheesecakes, a little shop dedicated to cheesecake in Bruntsfield. Well, it inspired me. With over 170 flavours, it was hard not to be inspired to be honest. So when my flatmates' birthday came around, I thought it was a perfect excuse to make my own, especially as he's allergic to eggs, so normal cakes don't really work for him. As it was a birthday, I wanted to do something really indulgent, so I doubled my usual cheesecake recipe, added melted milk and white chocolate to the cheesecake mix itself and piled five types of chocolate bar on top, as well as more melted white and dark chocolate. I'll be the first to admit, it was pretty obscene. But come on, birthday!

It's easy to make, no bake so perfect for summer and although it's best left in the fridge overnight you can get away with making it about three or four hours ahead of time. With the pile of chocolate on top it really is quite a show stopper, and makes an excellent centre piece for any table.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake

Base
400g digestive biscuits
135g Unsalted butter (melted)

Filling
400g Full fat Philadelphia (no scrimping and using half fat, it won't set)
200g Icing Sugar
370ml Double Cream
160g of White Chocolate
160g of Milk Chocolate

Decoration
Your choice of chocolate bars to pile and melt.

1. Smash your biscuits into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and combine. Press down in the bottom of a loose bottom cake tin, then pop the tin into the fridge to cool while you make the filling.

3. Sieve the icing sugar into the cream cheese and combine.

4. Whisk the double cream until it's nice and thick.

5. Melt both of the types of chocolate (in different bowls).
6. Put half of the double cream in a different bowl, and one type of chocolate into each bowl. Mix until completely smooth.
7. Put half of the cream cheese and icing sugar mixture into each cream and chocolate bowl. Again, whisk until smooth. 
8. Evenly spread the milk chocolate mix over the biscuit base. Then spread the white chocolate mix over that. Leave to cool.
9. Immediately before serving pile up your chopped up chocolate bars and drizzle melted chocolate over the top.

Artisan Cheesecakes

 

Tucked away in Bruntsfield in Edinburgh is a wonderous place called Artisan Cheesecakes. A teeny tiny cafe absolutely devoted to cheesecake. I don't want to be dramatic or anything, but visiting might chage your life. There's so many cheesecake options you just won't know what to do with yourself. Luckily when Ben and I visited on Sunday the man behind the counter was absolutely lovely, chatting away as we uhmd and ahhd over what to take away with us. 

The cheesecakes are in quite industrial fridges, which is a shame because the rest of the shop is so cute, but I suppose needs must, and those cheesecakes definitely deserve appropriate sheltering from the heat that's currently engulfing the city. 

Eventually we went for one classic and one that was, well, a little bit out there. Creamy vanilla cheesecake with rice krispy cake on top of a chocolate biscuit base, studded with homemade marshamllow and drizzled in chocolate ganache. It was unlike any cheesecake I've ever seen, but it was also absolutely delicious. You can sit in, if you can squeeze in somewhere, but I think taking it away and sitting to relax in the Meadows which surround the shop is a much better option. You can get the cheesecake in little plastic boxes, which is very handy for this!

  

 

  

Our second, classic choice was raspberry and white chocolate, and if I'm honest I think for me the classic had the edge. We bought a minature whole cheesecake, rather than a slice of this one because it was just too cute not to, and it too came in its own little box which saw it safely transported home because we couldn't squeeze the two in whilst we sat on the grass.

I will undoubtedly be returing to Artisan Cheesecakes, as I hear rumour they have over 170 different flavours on a rotating basis. So it would be rude not to give a couple more of them a go.

If a cheesecake craving hits you, you can find the shop at 104 Bruntsfield Place, or their original shop out in Bathgate, 87 South Bridge St.

Terry's Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

 

Whilst I'm sat on the train home for Christmas, I thought we'd talk about cheesecake. It has to be said, this particular cheesecake isn't much of a looker. But it is incredibly tasty. To me, the taste a bite of chocolate orange produces is like a mouthful of Christmas. I always used to get those segment sweets put in my advent calendar at home. So when my boyfriends Mum sent this recipe to me, I couldn't help but give it a go. And my goodness it is delicious. It's rich and creamy and terribly naughty. But it's Christmas, so I don't really care, and neither should you.

Terry's Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Base
20 Biscuits (I used digestives, the original recipe said hobnobs, you can use whatever you fancy)
140g Unsalted butter (melted)

Filling
200g Full fat Philadelphia (no scrimping and using half fat, it won't set!)
100g Icing Sugar
184ml Double cream
160g of Terry's chocolate orange (plus extra to decorate. And eat.)

1. Smash your biscuits into fine crumbs.You want it to still have texture, but not have big clumps of biscuit in.

2. Add the melted butter and combine. Press down in the bottom of a loose bottom cake tin, then pop the tin into the fridge to cool while you make the filling.

3. Sieve the icing sugar into the cream cheese and combine. It doesn't look pretty, but it's super tasty if you decide to lick the spoon. I recommend licking the spoon.

4. Whisk the double cream until it's nice and thick.

5. Melt the chocolate orange and add to the whipped double cream.
6. Add in the cream cheese and icing sugar mixture to the double cream mixture then whisk until smooth. Dollop on to the base that you've cooled in the fridge and spread out evenly.
7. Decorate with the remaining chocolate orange and leave to set in the fridge for at least three hours. It's tempting I know, but the wait is worth it.