Coffee, Chocolate and Cheeecake.......... Little slice of heaven..... Also quite sad!

This is a great recipe, it shows off really well due to the layers and it freezes really well too, so you could make it and cut it up into portions and freeze for a dessert later. Chocolate, coffee and cheesecake, all great things…. Well some of our favourite things anyway.

It’s a little symbolic too because it was my last baking project in America. The best time of my life - was the 11 months I spent out there. So much of life changed for the better, I grew as a woman, I found myself, I married the love of my life and I experienced some of the most wonderful things. I miss it so much and would return in a heartbeat given the opportunity.

Mocha Cheesecake

1 ½ cups Oreo cookies, crumbled

¼ cup melted butter

Filling

2tbsp plus 1 ½ tsp instant coffee
1 tbsp boiling water
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
4 packs cream cheese
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup flour
4 lightly beaten eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips, melted and cooled (semisweet are best)

Glaze

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter

Extra chocolate chips for decorating optional.

1. Grease a 9” spring-pan. Mix together the cookie crumbs and butter, then press into the bottom of your pan. Wrap a double layer of tinfoil around the pan and set aside. Now in a bowl mix the water cinnamon and instant coffee together and then set that aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and flour until nice and smooth, then beat in the eggs on a low speed until just combined, nest stir in the vanilla extract. Divide the batter into two equal parts and stir in the melted chocolate into one half and the coffee mixture into the other. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust, then spoon the coffee layer over the chocolate layer.
3. Bake at 350˚F (180˚C) in a water bath, for 45-50 minutes or until just set, cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the outside edge to loosen and cool for another hour before placing in the fridge over night.
4. In a small saucepan over a low heat melt the chocolate chips and butter, stirring until smooth, then spread over the cheesecake, garnish with chocolate chips.

Moooohahahahaha....... She tries to bake...

I am a self professed rubbish baker, I mean like all out really, really, hit or miss, super rubbish, crazy bad. I choose baking recipes depending on ingredients, the fewer the better, this was an all out, hit, hit, hit. Oh my goodness calorific, my, oh my, brilliant – no exaggeration – cheesecake factory fantastic. Thankfully it tastes so good that the few minor mishaps, and I always have some minor mishap or other, don't matter too much. With my cheesecakes they tend to split – the first time because I didn’t use a water bath, then I did use a water bath but not very well – my baking pan didn’t fit in the receptacle that I was using very well. The other time I got it spot on, other than the fact that I was really, really drunk, so it was perfect right up until the point, I forgot to peel the edges of the cheesecake off the side of the baking pan, as it cooled and retracted, the edges pulled and it in turn split the cheesecake anyway, I was really upset about it, mostly because my alcohol consumption caused a really silly mistake on what should have been a perfect cheesecake!........ Like I said though thankfully taste negates from the fact I ruined it.

 Chocolate Brownie Caramel Cheesecake

 9oz Brownie Mix

3 eggs
1 tbsp cold water
1 can sweetened condensed milk (nestle stuff super thick and sweet)
16 oz whipped cream cheese
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate sauce for drizzling

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and grease a 9” spring form pan.
2. In a small bowl mix together the brownie mix, 1 egg and water, spread into your spring form pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.
3. Open your condensed milk and pour the contents into a pan, over a low heat and stirring continuously, cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until,  you can turn a cooled tablespoon of it upside down without it falling off.  The other way to do this is slightly more time consuming, but may give better results. Place the can of sweetened condensed milk in a pan of simmering water, for 2 – 2 ½ hours, you need to remember to keep toping up the water level, if it dries out the can could explode. When it’s done, let it cool before you open it, it should be very thick and caramel coloured.
4. Keep some of the caramel to one side, you are going to need it to drizzle over the top of the cheesecake, use the rest over your warm brownie crust.
5. Next you need to beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth. Then in a separate bowl, beat 1 egg and then mix it in with the cream cheese, making sure that it is well combined and then do the same again with the 2^nd egg. Pour your cream cheese mixture over the caramel and brownie crust.
6. Using a water bath bake the cheesecake for about 40 minutes, chill in the pan, don’t forget to run a knife around the outside edge to peel the cheesecake off the sides… Heat the saved caramel and drizzle over the cheesecake along with chocolate sauce.