Friday 17 November 2017

Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake Icebox Cake


Chocolate + cheesecake + Oreos = ❤️❤️

This cake not only looks beautiful but it tastes amazing. Be warned !!! You will want to reach for a second helping ! 😱


What I love about thus icebox cakes is that creamy chocolate cheesecake filling. It tastes just like a non-bake chocolate cheesecake. It's thick and creamy with a little tang from the cream cheese but plenty of sweetness from the dark chocolate.

The filling is easy to make too. Only 5 ingredients needed.

Ingredients:
  • 250g cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp castor sugar
  • 150g good quality dark chocolate 
  • 500ml double cream ,whip to soft peak
  • 280g Oreos biscuits 
  • 1 cup milk
Topping:

  • 360 ml double cream, whip to soft peak
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp icing sugar
  • 10 Oreos biscuits
Method:

Prepare a 9 inch round spring form baking tin by greasing the bottom with a small bit of butter.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add your vanilla and sugar and beat to combine. 

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and stir until smooth and leave it aside to cool slightly. Then add the chocolate to the cream cheese and mix together. Finally fold through the whipped cream.

To assemble, dunk each Oreo in the milk for around 2-3 seconds and arrange in a single layer across the bottom of the cake tin. Don't worry about any gaps. Then pile on half of the chocolate cheesecake mixture and spread it across the cookies in one even layer.

Repeat with another layer of Oreos, dunking and then layering them on top of the chocolate cheesecake. Then add the remaining chocolate cheesecake and smooth it out to form an even layer. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.

To decorate, place your extra double cream in a large mixing bowl. Then sift in the icing sugar and the cocoa powder and gently fold through. Spoon the chocolate cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe swirls along the edges. Half 6 of the Oreos and place in between the chocolate swirls.

Before serving remove the cream filling from the extra 4 Oreos cookies and crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Gently run a knife around the edge of the cake tin and remove the side of the tin. Sprinkle over the Oreo crumbs. Cut and serve. 




Sunday 12 November 2017

Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake Cake


This Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake  Cake is a chocolately bundt cake with an Oreo cheesecake filling and it's topped with cream cheese glaze and more Oreos!!
When it comes to baking a bundt cake, there is one essential step you cannot skip and that is to generously grease and flour the bundt pan from top to bottom. You do not want anything sticking to the sides of the pan.  
Here I used ready mix in a box chocolate cake. Life too short to do everything from scratch! 

Ingredients:
  • 1 box chocolate cake
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract 
For the cheesecake :
  • 227g cream cheese, room temperature 
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup crushed Oreos 
For the topping:
  • 113g cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4-5 tsp double cream
  • 3-4 Oreos, crushed
  • 1/4 cup hot fudge
Method:

For the cake: Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/160°C for fan oven.  Generously grease a large bundt pan and coat it with a mixture of 50% cocoa powder and 50% flour. Do not skip this step, it is important to help the cake release from the pan. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, cocoa powder, eggs, oil, water, sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix all of the ingredients until they are well combined. Set aside. 

For the cheesecake: In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the egg, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Mix all of the ingredients until they are well combined and smooth. Stir in the crushed Oreos. 

Place at least 1/3 of the cake batter into the bottom of the greased and floured pan, be sure cover at least the bottom nooks and crannies.
Then spread the Oreo cheesecake layer over top of the cake batter and try to spread it evenly.
Finally cover the cheesecake layer with the remaining cake batter. Bake at 180°C/160°C for fan oven for 45-50 minutes. To test the cake doneness, insert a skewer into the cake,mid the skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. 

Allow the cake to cool for at least 15-20 minutes and gently sun a knife around the sides of the pan to help release the cake from the sides of the pan. Turn the cake onto a pan by placing the pan on the top of  the cake and use two hands to invert it. Allow the cake to cool completely. 

For the topping: Beat the cream cheese until it's smooth. Then add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat until the ingredients are well combined. Then slowly add the double cream, one teaspoon at a time until the cream cheese reaches your desired consistency. It should still be thick, not watery, but it should run off the spoon without too much effort. 

Place the cream cheese in a piping bag and cut off the edge of the piping bag about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Pipe the cream cheese frosting along the top and sides of the cake.

Next, heat the hot fudge according to the instruction on the jar and repeat the same steps to pipe the fudge sauce next to or over the cream cheese. 

Finally, sprinkle more crushed Oreos over top. Keep this cake refrigerated in an air tight container.

Vegan Mango and Ginger Cheesecake

Vegan mango and ginger cheesecake is a great no bake cheesecake celebrating summer flavours. It's easy and quick to make, gluten-free and oil-free too.



Ingredients:

Cheesecake base;
  • 125g dates, pitted and soaked in boiling water
  • 100g almonds
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • Pinch of salt
Cheesecake layer:
  • 185g raw cashews, soaked overnight
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream
  • 3tsp agar agar powder
  • 5 tbsp lemon/lime juice
  • 5 tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 tsp finely grated ginger 
  • 1/2 cup water
Mango layer:
  • 2 cup mango puree
  • 2 tsp agar agar
Method:

Line the bottom of a 8" spring form tin with a baking paper and cut out a long rectangle to line the sides with.

CHEESECAKE BASE:

Grind almonds in food processor until coarse crumb. Take it out of the food processor and set aside. 

Drain dates, squeeze excess water out and chop them roughly. Place then into the food processor and process it into a smooth paste.

In a bowl, mix date paste with enough ground almonds and desiccated coconut to obtain a dough that isn't too sticky yet still holds together well. Season with a bit of salt to taste. 

Line the sides of the spring form tin and then mould the base mixture to the bottom of the tin. Press the mixture down well with your fingers so that there are no gaps. Put a bit of baking paper on top of the base and weigh it down with something heavy. Put into the fridge while making your cheesecake mixture. 

CHEESECAKE LAYER:

Just before blending the cheesecake layer, put agar agar and 1/2 cup of water into a small pot. Let the mixture come to boil and simmer on low medium heat, stir frequently until agar agar dissolve and the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). From that point onwards you need to work fast as agar agar sets as soon as it cools down. 

Put rinse cashew nuts, coconut cream, maple syrup, grated ginger, lime juice, warm agar mixture and extra 1/4 cup water into a blender. Blend, scraping the sides of the blender from time to time as the set agar likes to stay on those. You will need to work fast as agar sets as soon as it cools down. 

As soon as the cheesecake mixture is super smooth, take the spring form tin out of the fridge and pour the cheesecake mixture on top the set base. Make sure you do it very quickly to get smooth finish as agar sets very quickly. Gently tap the filled spring form tin against your work top surface a few times to get rid of air bubbles. Allow this layer to set completely (about 10 mins) before pouring on the next layer.

MANGO LAYER:

Put 1/4 cup of water into a small pot and add agar agar. Let the mixture come to boil and simmer on low-medium heat, stirring frequently until the agar agar dissolve. Add agar mixture to the mango puree and blend until smooth. Pour over the cheesecake layer and allow it to set before decorating.