Award Winning Chocolate Cheese Cake

Chocolate Cheesecake

This is the recipe for Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cheesecake, I made this scrumptious cake and it came first place for Best Tasting in a cake baking competition (see Katie's Journal for more info).

Now a few things I'd like to point out before you start making this cake, consider the size of your spring form pan; this cake is indeed very rich.
I used a large spring form pan so that the cake was thin and would serve more people (over 20) for the competition. This turned out to be an excellent idea as 1 slice was enough for one person and none was wasted, whereas if the spring form is smaller the cake will be larger in height, meaning your servings are going to be quite big.
So consider your audience and the meal your having before hand, are they going to feel over full if you serve a large slice after a roast lamb dinner?
I like to stick with the old saying 'Less is More'. Although a large slice with a cup of tea in the afternoon never goes astray!

Also I didn't put an exact measurement of sour cream in as I was half asleep baking this at midnight the night before the competition, so when I tasted the mixture before pouring into the spring form pan; it was too sour. I added extra dark melted chocolate to balance it out.
This made the cake richer in chocolate but it tasted amazing, and I noticed that Nigella's cake in her picture was much lighter in colour than mine. I felt that this was fine. So should you find your cake mixture not quite rich enough, add more chocolate and no harm done.

INGREDIENTS

 

FOR THE BASE

·                                 125g digestive biscuits

·                                 60g butter

·                                 1 tablespoon cocoa

FOR THE FILLING

·                                 175g dark chocolate, chopped small

·                                 500g Philadelphia cream cheese

·                                 150g caster sugar

·                                 1 tablespoon

·                                 Custard powder

·                                 3 large eggs

·                                 3 large egg yolks

·                                 150ml sour cream

·                                 1/2 teaspoon cocoa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL)

·                                 75g dark chocolate, finely chopped

·                                 125ml double cream

·                                 1 teaspoon golden syrup

METHOD

Serves: Makes 10-12 slices

1.                    To make the base, process the biscuits to make rough crumbs (or put in a zip lock bag and beat with a rolling pin) and then add the butter and cocoa.

2.                    Process again until it makes damp, clumping crumbs and then tip them into a 23cm spring form tin. Press the biscuit crumbs into the bottom of the tin to make an even base and put into the freezer while you make the filling.

3.                    Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180ºC. Put a kettle on to boil. Melt the chocolate either in a microwave or double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly.

4.                    Beat the cream cheese to soften it, and then add the sugar and custard powder, beating again to combine. Beat in the whole eggs and then the yolks, and the sour cream. Finally add the cocoa dissolved in hot water and the melted chocolate, and mix to a smooth batter.

5.                    Take the spring form tin out of the freezer and line the outside of the tin with a good layer of cling wrap, and then another layer of strong foil over that. This will protect it from the water bath.

6.                    Sit the spring form tin in a roasting pan and pour in the cheesecake filling. Fill the roasting pan with just-boiled water to come about halfway up the cake tin, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The top of the cheesecake should be set, but the underneath should still have a wobble to it.

7.                   Peel away the foil and cling wrap wrapping and sit the cheesecake in its tin on a rack to cool. Put in the fridge once it's no longer hot, and leave to set, covered with cling wrap, overnight. Let it lose its chill before un-springing the cheesecake to serve.

8.                    To make the chocolate glaze, very gently melt the chopped chocolate, cream and syrup. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool a little, and then Jackson Pollock it over the chocolate cheesecake on its serving plate. Use the remaining glaze as an accompanying sauce.