Vanilla and Chocolate Cheesecake

Brûlée Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake

Making a sugary crust on the top of this silky smooth cheesecake is like placing the cherry on top of a cake.  It finishes it off and adds a perfect crunch to a beautifully soft and decadent cheesecake made from ricotta, cream cheese and dark chocolate. 

This is a simple cheesecake which looks special because of its two creamy smooth layers and the lovely chocolate biscuit base.    I used Chocolate Oreos (remove the cream inside) and mix the biscuits  with the lovely coconut flavour of Tennis biscuits.  When mixing the biscuit base, make sure that you use enough butter to make this a solid base as the sides are very high, and it won’t work if your biscuit crumb is too soft.  Try not to make the base too thick, but thick enough to hold the deep dish cheesecake when it is removed from the tin.

Chocolate vanilla cheesecake

I just love my kitchen blowtorch, it’s such fun to use.  It is like making magic happen, watching the sugar turn golden and then starting to caramelize.  If you are like me and need every kitchen appliance available, this one is an absolute must.  They work so much better than having to place your bakes into a stove under a grill, where there is always the threat of it over baking.  With the blowtorch you are only heating the topmost layer with the flame.  You won’t regret buying one, and they are very reasonably priced.

 

5 from 2 votes
Chocolate vanilla cheesecake
Brûlée Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

This cheesecake is equally as delicious without the brulee top

Course: Dessert
Servings: 12
Author: Donna Hay
Ingredients
  • 340 g plain chocolate biscuits I actually used 1 packet of Oreos (cream scraped out) and 1 packet Tennis biscuits (coconut flavoured tea biscuit)
  • 40 g (1/3cup) almond meal (I ground raw almonds to a fine flour)
  • 100 g butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
  • 500 g cream cheese, softened
  • 350 g fresh ricotta
  • 220 g caster sugar (extra fine sugar)
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g dark chocolate, melted
  • 2 tsp cornstarch (cornflour)
Instructions
  1. Place the biscuits and almond meal into a food processor and blitz until coarse crumbs are formed

  2. Add the melted butter and process until the mixture is combined.  Add extra butter if it is too crumbly still

  3. Line the base of a 21cm lightly greased springform pan with baking paper

  4. Press the biscuit crumb into the base and up the sides of the pan until it nearly reaches the top, as this is a deep dish cheesecake.  Press with the back of a spoon to make sure it is firm.

  5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until very firm

  6. Preheat oven to 150ºC / 300ºF 

FOR THE FILLING
  1. Place the cream cheese into a food processor and blitz to make it a smooth creamy consistency.

  2. Add the ricotta and sugar and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth

  3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and one teaspoon of the vanilla and process for 1 minute

  4. Place 2/3 of the mixture in a large bowl and set aside.  I actually weighed the entire mixture and then divided by 3 to get the exact amount. 

  5. Melt the chocolate and add it to the remaining 1/3 filling in the processor and blitz until combined

  6. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the chilled biscuit base 

  7. Mix the cornflour with the remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix to a paste.  Add a few tablespoons of the vanilla mix to this to get a nice smooth consistency.  Add it back into the vanilla mix and combine until fully incorporated.

  8. Gently pour the remainder of the vanilla cheesecake mix over the chocolate mixture and smooth the top
  9. Cook for 55-60 minutes or until the edge is just set and the centre still has a slight wobble.

  10. Turn the oven off and allow to cool and set in the oven for 20 minutes.

  11. Take out and stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before refrigerating for 2-3 hours.  

  12. Sprinkle with sugar and use a kitchen blowtorch to brulee the top.

  13. This serves 12 people and can be made the day before.

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3 Comments

  • Reply Carol April 11, 2018 at 12:03 PM

    Fabulous recipe which I managed to make without a hitch. Thank you for sharing this

  • Reply Nellie J April 11, 2018 at 12:04 PM

    I even went and bought a blow torch to make this and it was well worth the effort. Delicious

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon April 11, 2018 at 12:05 PM

      You will use it for other recipes too, I am so glad you enjoyed it.

    Leave a Reply to Shades of Cinnamon Cancel Reply

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