BBC Good Food - 04.2020

28 bbcgoodfood.com APRIL 2020

If you don’t

want to bake

cookies,use

only plainlour

to make the

cookie dough

layer, halving

the rest of the

ingredients,

and buy some

mini cookies

to decorate.

It wouldn’t be Easter without a chocolatey dessert piled high with

chocolate eggs. Here, we’ve baked a creamy choc cheesecake that has

a rich base studded with cookie dough and is finished with a silky

ganache, mini eggs and miniature cookies. It’s the ultimate indulgence

for the holiday weekend that we challenge the whole family not to love.

SERVES 15 PREP1 hr plus chilling
and 3 hrs coolingCOOK1 hr 10 mins
MORE EFFORTVGundecorated

sunlower or veg oil, for the tin
200g milk chocolate, chopped
100g dark chocolate, chopped
500g soft cheese
3 large eggs, at room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
200ml soured cream
3 tbsp plainlour
1 tsp vanilla paste
For the cookie dough base
225g light brown soft sugar
225g golden caster sugar
250g salted butter, softened
2 egg yolks (freeze the whites
for another recipe)
2 tbsp vanilla paste
3 tbsp milk
225g plainlour
225g self-raisinglour
200g dark chocolate chips
For the ganache
100g dark chocolate, chopped
100g milk chocolate, chopped
300ml double cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
For the decoration
chocolate mini eggs, chocolate
nests and white chocolate buttons
(see right)

1 Line the base of a deep 20cm

loose-bottomed cake tin with

baking parchment, then line the

sides using a strip of parchment

that comes above the tin by about

7cm (as the cheesecake will rise in

the oven). Lightly oil the parchment.

2 Make the cookie dough by beating

both sugars and the butter in a stand

mixer for 5 mins, or until light and

fluy. Tip in the egg yolks, vanilla

paste and milk, then beat again

until well combined. Divide the

mixture between two mixing bowls,

then beat the plain flour into one

half of the mixture and the self-

raising into the other. Divide the

chocolate chips between the two

bowls and beat both again until

the chocolate chips are evenly

distributed.Will keep covered in

the fridge for up to three days.

3 Put the self-raising flour mixture

in the fridge while you press the

plain flour cookie dough into the

base of your prepared cake tin.

Keep chilled in the fridge while you

prepare the rest of the cheesecake.

4 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/

gas 4. Line two baking sheets with

baking parchment, then take the

cookie dough made with the

self-raising flour out of the fridge.

Pinch pieces of the dough and roll

into balls the size of marbles until

you have used all the dough. Space

them apart on the baking sheets and

bake for 5-7 mins or until golden

brown. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

5 To make the main part of the

cheesecake, melt both the milk

and dark chocolate pieces in a

heatproof bowl set over a saucepan

Cookie dough cheesecake

of barely simmering water, then

set aside to cool down a little. Beat

the soft cheese in a large bowl to

loosen it, then beat in one egg at

a time. Whisk in the sugar, soured

cream, flour and vanilla for 5 mins

or until light and frothy, then leave

the mixture for 20 mins to come up

to room temperature. Pour in the

chocolate, gently folding it into the

mixture until it is even in colour.

6 Heat the oven to 170C/150C fan/

gas 3^1 / 2. Remove the cake tin from

the fridge and pour the chocolate

and cheese mixture over the cookie

dough base. Bake for 40 mins or

until set on top with a slight wobble

in the centre, then turn the oven o

and leave the cheesecake inside to

cool down slowly for 3 hrs (it will

dip slightly in the middle). Chill in

the fridge until completely cold.

7 For the ganache, put the dark and

milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Put the cream and sugar in a

saucepan and set over a medium

heat until steaming (don’t let it

boil), then pour over the chocolate.

Whisk to melt the chocolate and

create a smooth, glossy mixture.

Chill in the fridge for 1 hr or until

the ganache is thick and spoonable.

8 When the cheesecake is cold,

place on a serving plate or cake

stand, then swirl over the ganache.

Decorate with the choc chip cookies

and some chocolate mini eggs,

chocolate nests and white chocolate

buttons, if you like (see right).

PER SERVING 774 kcals • fat 25g • saturates 27g •

carbs 81g • sugars 58g • ibre 3g • protein 9g •

salt 0.7g

Buy them, or

ind out how to

make your own.

CHOCOLATE

NESTS

COOKIES

Toppings

Crush 100g

shredded

wheat cereal in

a large mixing

bowl. Melt 200g

dark chocolate

in a heatproof

bowl in short

bursts in the

microwave. Mix

together and

press into the

holes of a lightly

oiled mini muin

tin or cupcake

cases. Leave to

set for 2 hrs. Fill

with mini eggs.

Line a baking

sheet with

baking

parchment.

Melt 150g white

chocolate in a

heatproof bowl

over a pan of

simmering

water. Spoon

small puddles

of the chocolate

onto the

parchment.

Sprinkle with

hundreds and

thousands, if

you like. Chill

in the fridge

until set.

WHITE

CHOCOLATE

BUTTONS