Death by chocolate cheesecake

By Katie Corcoran, womanmagazine.co.uk

Four layers of chocolate heaven – a crisp biscuit base topped with rich cheesecake, oozing sauce and giant curls – this death by chocolate cheesecake is sooo good!

Short cut tip: top with chunks of Flake instead of curls

SERVES 16 PREP 50 MINS plus cooling and chilling
COOK 1hr 15 MINS

What you need to do:

175g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
25g dark cocoa powder
40g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:
525g full fat soft cheese
175ml double cream
1tbsp Madagascan Vanilla Bean Paste (we used Dr Oetker)
2 x 150g bars Fine Cook’s 72% Extra Dark Chocolate, melted
4 medium eggs, beaten
115g caster sugar

TOPPING:
100g Fine Cooks’ 72% Extra Dark Chocolate (we used Dr Oetker)
50g unsalted butter
Chocolate curls

What you need to do:

• Heat oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin and line base with baking paper. Wrap outside of tin with foil to waterproof.

• Combine the biscuits, cocoa, sugar and melted butter. Press into tin base and chill.

• For the filling, mix together cheese, cream and vanilla. Mix in the melted chocolate then gradually beat in the eggs and sugar. Spoon over biscuit base. Put in a roasting tin, pour around boiling water to half-fill. Bake for 1 hour until just firm. Cool for 30 mins in the turned off oven with the door ajar.

• Cool completely and chill for at least 3 hours.

• For the topping, melt the chocolate with the butter and 1tbsp water in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until smooth. Leave for 20 mins to thicken slightly.

• Spoon the sauce over the cheesecake allowing it to drip down the sides. Pile chocolate curls on the top.

Per serving: 440cals, 31g fat, 18g sat fat, 33g carbs