Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake Trifles

This is my last blogpost before the Christmas holidays. My blog will be taking a short break and normal services will resume towards the end of January.  Baileys and Christmas are synonymous and it just isn't Christmas without  Baileys! These Baileys chocolate cheesecake trifles are really quick and easy to make and are guaranteed to be a hit at your Christmas parties. You can make them in a large dish to be served family style or serve them in small individual dishes. We had them at our Christmas drinks with our neighbours and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. It's full of Baileys and has a lovely creamy richness from the cream cheese and whipped cream. The Oreos add a lovely crunch and chocolatey boost.

I'm sending this to We Should Cocoa guest hosted this month by Munchies & Munchkins on behalf of Choclette from Tin and Thyme. The theme this month is Christmas and as mentioned earlier, Baileys and chocolate pretty much equal Christmas to me! 

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year! See you all back in Jan 2016 when I will be hosting AlphaBakes.

 cream cheese, cocoa powder, Baileys, whipping cream and oreo cookies 

 Oreo cookie base 

 Cheesecake layer 

 whipped cream layer 

 

Recipe from Life, Love and Sugar

For the cheesecake layer 

450g cream cheese

55g caster sugar

30g cocoa powder

4-6 tablespoons Baileys 

For the whipped cream layer

250mls whipping cream

2-3 tablespoons Baileys

1.5 tablespoon cocoa powder

3 tablespoon icing sugar

Base and topping

15 Oreo cookies, crushed

• Beat the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder until smooth. 
• Add in Baileys and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it starts to thicken then add in the Baileys, cocoa powder and icing sugar and whisk until stiff peak forms. 
• Assemble the trifles by putting a layer of cookie crumbs at the bottom of each dish. Reserve a few tablespoons for the topping. 
• Pipe or spoon the cheesecake layer on top of the cookie crumbs followed by the whipped cream layer. 
• Repeat with a further layer of cheesecake filling followed by the whipped cream filling. 
• Sprinkle the remaining cookie crumbs on top. 

Spinach, Tomato and Mushroom Mini Frittatas

We had our neighbours round at the beginning of December for pre-Christmas drinks and nibbles. I made some festive bites which were quick and easy to do and tasted delicious. Initially I planned to make a quiche but I came across this recipe on Italian Food Forever and decided to give it a go. I used spinach and cherry tomatoes for their festive colours and added in some mushrooms. This recipe is so versatile as you can basically add whatever ingredients you fancy. They keep well too and tasted great for breakfast the next day. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and myself on alternate months. The letter this month is N and I am using it for 'Noel' as Caroline is accepting any Christmas related entries. 

Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and Kat from The Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Red and Green aka Christmas. 

Extra Veg guest hosted by Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary on behalf of Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy.

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is Anything Goes and this recipe uses 8 large free range eggs.

 eggs, milk, spinach, mushroom, tomato 

 egg and milk mixture 

 add in the filling 

Makes 12 mini Frittatas

8 large free range eggs
250mls milk
salt and pepper
180g baby spinach, sauteed and drained
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
handful of chestnut mushrooms, chopped and sauteed

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Grease a non stick 12 cup muffin tin.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and milk and season with salt and pepper. 
• Pour evenly into the muffin cups. 
• Add in a spoonful of mushrooms and a handful of spinach to each cup.
• Add 2 cherry tomato halves. 
• Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until set. 
• Allow to cool before serving. 

Nutella Nanaimo Bars

This month's AlphaBakes is the letter 'N'. I started thinking about 'N' recipes and decided on Nutella which I love.  I've baked a lot with Nutella and wanted something a little different so when I came across these Nutella Nanaimo bars, I knew I had to make it immediately. I've seen Nanaimo bars on the blogosphere but have never made it myself. It's a no bake dessert bar named after the west coast city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It usually has a wafer crumb base layer topped with a layer of custard flavoured butter icing and covered with melted chocolate. These of course contain nutella and have an Oreo cookie base. It's sweet and buttery and nutty and oh so naughty. One compliment I received was that "these taste like little explosions of heaven in your mouth". It's perfect for the upcoming festive season as it's quick and easy to make and you can make them in advance. 

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter this month is "N" and I hope I get bonus points for my double N entry ;) 

 making the biscuit base 

 adding lots of lovely Nutella 

 cooked biscuit base 

 Nutella layer 

 add melted chocolate 

 ready to eat 

Recipe adapted from Sweet Twist of Blogging

For the base

2 packs of Oreo double stuff cookies (or regular oreo cookies)

60g caster sugar

50g cocoa powder

115g butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

[I wanted to add some chopped hazelnuts but didn't have any in the cupboard]

For the filling

40g butter

110g icing sugar

300g Nutella

1 tablespoon double cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping

140g dark chocolate

10g butter

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line a square baking tin. 
• Place the Oreo cookies in a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Place in a large bowl and add in the remaining ingredients.
• Mix well then pour into a square tin.
• Press down gently and level the top. 
• Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool. 
• To make the filling, beat the butter and icing sugar until it forms a paste.
• Add in the Nutella, cream and vanilla extract and mix.
• Pour onto the cooled base and level with a spatula. 
• Place in the fridge to chill.
• Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Stir occasionally and once fully melted, remove from the heat.
• Pour the melted chocolate on top of the chilled filling, tilting from side to side to get an even coating.
• Cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

Apple and raisin muffins with streusel topping

As mentioned before I've been baking a LOT with apples these past few weeks. These muffins came about as I had 1 ripe banana and some apples to use up. I started with a banana and apple muffin and decided to add in raisins, nuts, spice and a streusel topping. The result was a wonderfully delicious and fragrant muffin which made for a perfect breakfast on the go.

I'm sending this to the No Waste Food Challenge guest hosted by Jen from Jen's Food this month on behalf of Elizabeth from Elizabeth' s Kitchen Diary.

 adding wet ingredients to the dry ingredients 

 adding pecans, raisins and apples

 add streusel topping before baking

 yum

 You can clearly see the chunks of apples and the raisins 

 Great breakfast with a nice cup of tea 

Makes 15 muffins 

For the streusel topping

25g flour

85 demerara sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

50g cold butter

25g pecans, chopped 

For the muffins

100g brown sugar

50g caster sugar

220g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon mixed spice

60mls milk

1 ripe banana

80mls vegetable oil

2 large free range eggs

1 pot (165g) Muller light banana and custard yoghurt (or vanilla or apple flavour) 

2 apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

100g raisins

75g pecans, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 180C. 
• Line 2 muffin trays with 15 muffin liners. 
• Make the streusel topping by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl by hand. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix the sugars, flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice. 
• In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs and add in the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, milk ad yoghurt.
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir until just mixed. 
• Add in the apples, raisins and pecans and mix. 
• Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases. 
• Top with streusel topping and bake in the pre heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer insertedinto the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool in the tray for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Mini Caramel Apple Cheesecakes with Streusel Topping

I can't believe it's December already! I probably say this every year but where has the year gone? This year seems to have flown by in a flash. I'm sure there's a lot of festive cooking and baking going on worldwide but I'm still in autumn mode with apples. I saw this on pinterest and thought what a great idea. I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bake these and made them to take to a dinner party. We were really full from all the food but still managed to enjoy one or two of these. It's a good idea baking them in muffin cases as it's a nice individual portion, looks cute and is easy to transport. I also took some to work as did J and both our work colleagues enjoyed them. It's a baked cheesecake filled with fresh apples, streusel topping and a generous drizzle of salted caramel sauce. These are great for the upcoming festive season as you can bake them in advance and they are sure to be a hit at any party. 

I'm sending this to Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen as the theme this month is anything goes. This recipe contains 3 large free range eggs. 

It's also going to Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily from A Mummy Too.

 streusel topping 

 digestive biscuit base

 add cheesecake mixture 

 then chopped apples

 top with streusel topping 

 generous drizzle of caramel sauce before serving

  

Recipe adapted slightly from cookingclassy.com

Makes 18 mini cheesecakes

For the base
16 digestive biscuits
2.5 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
85g butter,melted

For the filling 
340g cream cheese
225g caster sugar
3 large free range eggs
3/4 cup creme fraiche
3 or 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into tiny pieces (if the chunks are too big, the apples won't cook fully)
3 tablespoons lemon juice

For the streusel topping
80g plain flour
40g oats
75g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
57g butter

• First prepare the streusel topping by mixing all the ingredients together in a large bowl using your hands until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
• Cover and chill in the fridge. 
• Preheat the oven to 165C. 
• Prepare the crust by blitzing the digestive biscuits in a food processor or bashing them with a rolling pin in a ziplock bag. 
• Add the melted butter, sugar and cinnamon and stir until mixed. 
• Line 2 muffin tins with 18 cupcake/muffin liners. 
• Divide the mixture evenly between 18 cases and press down gently.
• Bake in the pre heated oven for approximately 5 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• Make the filling by beating the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. 
• Add the eggs one at a time followed by the creme fraiche and mix well.
• Pour the filling (use a measuring jug with a pouring spout) on top of the baked cheesecake crust until about 2/3 full.
• Peel, core and finely chop the apples then toss in fresh lemon juice.
• Place a generous spoonful of apples on top of each cheesecake. 
• Top with the streusel topping. 
• Bake in the pre heated oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Allow to cool completely then chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. 
• Just before serving, pour a generous amount of caramel sauce on top of the cheesecake. I used ready made caramel sauce but you can also make your own.