Wednesday 11 April 2012

Black, white or not cheesecake



This month's We Should Cocoa hosted by Choclette set us the challenge of baking with cheese and chocolate.  I went to the London Chocolate Festival recently and watched a demonstration by David from The Outsider Tart. He demonstrated a black and white (or not) cheesecake which can be found on page 158 of their book Baked in America. I decided then and there that I would bake that cheesecake or a variation of it for this challenge. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to taste the cheesecake as I was standing outside the demo tent (it was very busy) but I was lucky enough to speak to David & David. They signed my book which was the highlight of my day! 



I decided to change things a little and make them into mini cheesecakes as everything is better in miniature form, right? I also wanted to make use of my peanut butter chips that I bought from America earlier this year so I decided to make three layers instead of two - white chocolate, dark chocolate and peanut butter. I used an oreo cookie base as it's my favourite and I was too lazy to make a proper base and substituted double cream with whipping cream as I didn't have any to hand! I think it made the texture a bit softer but otherwise was not really noticeable. I added a 'star' of cream on top and finished it with mini gold chocolate bars. The cheesecakes were absolutely divine and they went down a real treat at work. No surprise that the peanut butter was my favourite layer :) I think I should try the original recipe next time to compare. I really want to make one that looks like the picture in the book! :)




 I used a muffin tray lined with strips of parchment paper which makes it easier to remove the cheesecakes later. Make sure you grease the tray as well. 

 oreo cookie base 

 my 3 flavours - dark chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter!

 3 different cheesecake flavours

 I added one layer to each row 

 then topped with a different flavour in layers
 fresh from the oven 

 my super cool mini chocolate mould. I'm sure you will want to know where I got it from. Well, I bought mine from siliconemould.com which sells a great range of silicone products. I should know as I probably have half the range in my kitchen! 

 I used Dr Oetker gold shimmer spray on the mini chocolate bars

 The layered effect 


Recipe has been adapted from Baked in America, page 158.
I would recommend buying the book for the original recipe. I've detailed below my modified version and have obtained permission from the author to publish on my blog - many thanks!

Makes ~20 mini cheesecakes (possibly 18 or 21, can't remember now)

2 x 154g oreo cookies, crushed
75g unsalted butter, melted
600g cream cheese
180g sugar
2 tablespoon cornflour
pinch of salt
3 eggs
150g sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
160mls whipping cream (ideally use double cream)
100g dark chocolate chips
100g white chocolate chips
100g peanut butter chips


  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Grease 2 x 12-cup muffin tray and line with strips of parchment paper as shown.
  • Blitz the oreo cookies in a food processor.
  • Add the melted butter and stir. 
  • Press approximately 1 tablespoon of oreo cookie base into each muffin cup. 
  • Place in the refrigerator to chill whilst making the cheesecake batters.
  • In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
  • Whisk the sugar, cornflour and salt in a bowl and gradually add to the cream cheese.
  • Continue beating on low speed and add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. 
  • Add the sour cream, vanilla and cream. 
  • Divide the batter into 3 equal portions. 
  • Melt each of the chocolate chips separately.
  • Add the dark chocolate to 1/3, white chocolate to 1/3 and peanut butter to the final 1/3.
  • Pour each batter in layers on top of the cookie crust. You can layer the flavours or baked individual flavours. You can also create swirls and pretty patterns if you wish.
  • Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until set. 
  • The middle should still be wobbly but the edges will be set. 
  • Cool completely in the pan.
  • Remove by lifting the parchment strips straight up. 
  • Chill in the fridge for a few hours or preferably overnight.
  • To decorate - pipe a 'star' of whipped cream and top with a mini gold chocolate bar or decoration of your choice. 


48 comments:

  1. Mmmm, these look so tempting! I love it!

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  2. Oh my lord these look amazing! Love the mini slabs!!
    Nom!

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  3. wow, these look incredible. Love the mini choc bars.

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  4. Oh those layers... and that mini chocolate mould as well... super cool. Now I've tried my first baked cheesecake I'm totally on board with branching out into something incredibly delicious-looking like this. Thanks for sharing - I bet they were awesome!

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    1. They really were awesome. Cheesecakes are great - so many flavour variations.

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  5. These are completely adorable!! I love the triple layer effect...and genius idea to add peanut butter in there! Oreo base is my FAVE! I love the way you presented them, those mini chocolate bars are too cute and are the perfect toppers! p.s your tip for the greaseproof strip to help lift them out after is genius! so jealous you got to see the Davids - they are the best!

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    1. Thanks I was really proud of these. I'm glad you like the tip about the greaseproof paper - it really works! I was so chuffed to meet the Davids. So friendly and I got my book signed :)

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  6. Your mini chocolate mould is so cool! Making cheesecake in distinct triple layers can a challenge on its own and making the cheesecake so small is an extra challenging challenge! You are a genius to tackle all :D

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  7. Love those layers and super like the mould.
    Love the idea of mini cheesecakes :D

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    1. I think the mould is everyone's favourite :)

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  8. These look absolutely delish - love the layered effect and the mini chocolate bar looks great with the gold spray :)

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    1. Thanks! I was really pleased with the final result :)

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  9. These look AMAZING! Do you want to make them for my birthday party?!
    Also how funny that you got the two Davids from Outsider Tart to sign your book - my boyfriend's mum knows them and keeps telling me about their bakery! I didn't know they had a cookery book out actually so I might have to drop hints to her for my birthday!

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    1. LOL if you ask nicely :) You seem to know a lot of people!! How cool that there is a connection - the book is great and I really want to go to the bakery having sampled some at the market. Awesome whoopie pies :)

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  10. OMG these look FANTASTIC Ros!!! I love how there's so many layers ~ and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the little chocolate blocks and how you've sprayed them gold!!! Uh oh.... I have a bad feeling...I'm gonna be doing some shopping tonight...on siliconemould.com... lol I dunno if i should like you or hate you for telling me about this website!!! HAHAHA just kidding!

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    1. Thanks Daisy!! The little chocolate bars are super cute aren't they?

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  11. 3 different flavours of cheesecake...amazing! These look so cute too...think I'm gonna have to get myself that book and the mould...more things to add to the ever growing list!!! Fab chessecakes! :-)

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    1. Thanks Laura! I think the cheesecake in the book looks better but these were tasty too. When I saw that mould I knew I had to buy it and I'm glad I finally got to use it.

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  12. Oh they look so good! I want one!!

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  13. OMG! Those are STUNNING Ros, what a LOVELY and very inventive idea! Just fabulous!

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    1. Thanks Karen! I had fun making them and eating them too :)

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  14. Cheesecake is probably the fastest way to my heart - especially homemade cheesecake ;) And I love that you layered these - somehow cheesecake always tastes more decadent when there's layers. And when topped with a star of whipped cream =)

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    1. These were definitely tasty and decadent. I love cheesecakes too especially homemade ones :)

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  15. Ooh, how lovely Ros - they sound sublime. Love your peanut butter addition and of course your mini gold chocolate bars. And I love layers in pretty much anything. What a marvellous entry for WSC this month - thank you.

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    1. Thanks! They tasted amazing. I wish I still had some to eat!

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  16. I love the mould! I want one now! The cheesecakes look divine - wow. Can't you do mail order?

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    1. LOL maybe I should think of a career change... ;)

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  17. This is absolutely amazing, and I know I'll be getting some of the molds. Very, very creative and with so many 'food groups'... lovely!!

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    1. Thanks! The mould is really good and you can use it for so many things!

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  18. Oh you are so bad, Ros! I just need, just one, please....

    Love the parchment paper idea. Now why didn't I think of that? Oh because I don't bake, much...lol...

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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    1. I'll warn you now, one may not be enough! It's highly addictive. Glad you like the parchment paper idea - it's worth the effort of cutting them into strips!

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  19. They look incredible! I wish they sold those peanut butter chips here in the UK. Love the chocolate mould, tried to find it last night online and didn't have any luck unforunately! xx

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    1. I wish they sell peanut butter chips too!! I'd probably keep them in business :) Oh have they sold out of the moulds? I bought them some time ago but never got round to using them. Maybe email them if you are interested?

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    2. p.s they sell peanut butter chips in Partridge's on Kings Rd...slightly overpriced as they're imported but sometimes when you need your fix you just need a fix!

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  20. I think we would both keep them in business by the sounds of things! I love Reeses. I think I may email or check EBay. Have you checked out the button mould? I've got one and it's brilliant

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    1. I love reeses too and anything peanut butter! peanut butter m&m's - yum!! I saw the button mould but had already bought too much! I want the edible gift tag too :)

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  21. What a great flavor combination. I really like your parchment strip idea!

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    1. Thanks - they were delicious! The parchment strips are a lifesaver :)

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  22. Oh my goodness, look at those. They are amazing and I love the teeny wee chocolate bars. Fab!

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  23. Wow! Amazing mini layer cheesecake & look fabulous! I'm sure they taste wonderful! I'm a huge fan of cheesecake especially homemade ones!:)

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    1. Thanks! Homemade cheesecakes are the best :)

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  24. These look incredible. I've just made cheesecake and now I want to make another one!

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    1. Thanks! You can't have too many cheesecakes :)

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