Mint Choc Cheesecake

This luxurious, four layer, mint chocolate cheesecake is the perfect dessert to serve as an alternative to Christmas Pudding on Christmas Day, or as a table centrepiece for a New Years Eve party.

It’s rich, chocolaty, and with a Viscount biscuit base and a mint coconut ice top, it’s got a lovely hint of mint which lifts the flavours and gives some lovely crunchy textures along side the smooth cheesecake. I don’t like cheesecake, but this one is heavenly!

There are four different stages to making this cheesecake, so don’t be put off by how long it takes to make from start to finish, as all of these stages have chilling time in between. I tend to make this over 2 days – I make the base, while that’s chilling I make the cheesecake layer and coconut ice. I store the coconut ice in an airtight container, pour the cheesecake layer over the base, then leave everything in the fridge over night. The next day, I just need to make the ganache, which takes about 10mins, then I pour that over the cheesecake layer, sprinkle the coconut ice on top, and leave in the fridge until I’m ready to serve.

Trust me, this cheesecake is worth the effort!

Ready in 5 hrs, 25mins (55mins prep, 4 1/2 hrs chilling) – Makes one large cheesecake

Ingredients:

200g of Viscount biscuits
50g +a knob of unsalted butter
300g of dark chocolate, broken up into pieces
300mls of double cream
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
250g of full fat cream cheese
150g + 1 tablespoon of caster sugar
40mls of milk
40mls of water
225g of granulated sugar
60g of desiccated coconut
1/2 a teaspoon of peppermint extract
a drop of green food colouring

Method:

The Base Layer

Blitz up the Viscount biscuits in a food processor, or crush with a rolling pin.
Melt 50g of butter in the microwave and mix it into the blended biscuits. The texture will be quite runny.
Pour the mixture into the bottom of a cake tin and spread out evenly.
Chill in the fridge for about 30mins.

The cheesecake layer:

Whisk 150mls of double cream to soft peaks, then mix in the cocoa powder.

In a separate bowl, mix together the cream cheese with 150g of caster sugar.

Melt 200g of dark chocolate, either over a bain marie, or for 30-40 seconds in the microwave.
Allow the chocolate to cool to the point were if you dip a finger in it, it doesn’t feel hot, but it is still liquid.
Then mix together the double cream mix, the cream cheese mix and the cooled melted chocolate and spread over the base layer.
Chill, either in the fridge overnight, or in the freezer for 2hrs.

The coconut ice layer:

Pour the milk and water into a pan and bring to a gentle boil on the hob.

Add the granulated sugar and a knob of butter and stir until they dissolve.

Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid or a piece of kitchen foil and boil gently for 2mins.
Uncover and boil for about 5mins, stirring every so often, until a small amount of the mixture dropped into cold water forms a soft ball when rolled gently between your finger and thumb. (or, if you’re using a sugar thermometer, you reach 115c)

Take the pan off the heat, and add the coconut and peppermint.
Beat until the mixture looks thick and creamy.

Add the food colouring and mix well.
Allow the mixture to cool completely, but keep stirring it every so often as it does, to break it up and keep it crumbly.
Set to one side.

The ganache layer:

Put 100g of dark chocolate in a large heat proof bowl, and set aside.
Put 150mls of double cream and 1 tablespoon of caster sugar in a pan on the hob, and bring to the boil slowly, stirring the whole time.