Transcript

Short crust pastry case:

1 ½ cups plain flour
150g chilled butter cut into cubes
1 egg
60g caster sugar

Sift flour and rub in butter to a granular mixture. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg and sugar and mix til you have a smooth paste. Roll out and line your cheesecake flan tin or spring-form pan. Blind bake pastry shell for 10 minutes at 180 degrees or until lightly golden. Leave to cool.

Ganache:

400g cooking chocolate
300ml whipping cream

Gently warm the cream in a shallow frypan over a medium heat. When almost boiling, add small broken chunks of chocolate and stir til dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook out for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool.

Filling:

250g cream cheese, softened
¾ cup caster sugar
200ml thickened cream
200ml ganache
2 teaspoons gelatine
50ml boiling water

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and soft. Add the ganache to the cream cheese and mix well. When ready, add the cream and mix gently.

In a small bowl place the gelatine and add the boiling water and whisk quickly to dissolve.
Pour into cheesecake mix and stir through.

To make a mocha cheesecake, add a double shot of espresso to the mix.
To make a liqueur cheesecake, add a double shot of your favourite liqueur to the mix.
You may need to slightly increase the amount of gelatine to compensate.