Baking, I don’t do it often enough and if I did, I would have to buy a new wardrobe. I do love baking though, not just the wonder of seeing a recipe come together but the lovely smells wafting through the flat.
This week I made a Chocolate Cheesecake. This was for a Bake Off bloggers’ challenge hosted by Russell Hobbs using their new “Creations Kitchen Machine”. This is a stand mixer that is in direct competiton to the more expensive ones on the market like KitchenAid and Kenwood.
The challenge was to use Chocolate and the theme was Summer Cakes.
Here is the Chocolate Cheesecake recipe I used from Lucy Cufflin’s book, Lucy’s Food. Her recipes are easy to follow and are very well tested.
I used the Creations Kitchen Machine to mix up all the cream cheese mixture on the setting at #5 for about 5 minutes. I had to stop and scrape the bottom as all the cheese was stuck at the bottom. I probably shouldn’t have used the whisk extenstion as pictured here and should have used the mixer one. It also come with a dough hook for kneading bread which I shall be trying out next.
The Kitchen Machine is really straight forward to operate. Everything slots in intuitely and is easy to clean. I am very interested to find out what other attachments are available for this as I see some other places to plug things in.
Back to the cake, to fit the criteria of Summer Cakes, I served raspberries on top which not only looked stunning but also helped to counter the richness of the chocolate. All this was dusted with icing sugar which just makes everything a touch more professional, even though it’s not. It could have done with some pouring cream or ice cream too.
In the book, she suggested serving it with hot chocolate sauce too.
Quick Chocolate Cheesecake recipe that looks a million dollars. Can be made gluten free by changing the base to use nuts, oats or any other substitutes.
Ingredients
- 100g Butter
- 200g chocolate digestives, crushed
- 150 full fat cream cheese
- 250g mascarpone
- 250g caster sugar
- 75g cocoa powder (not hot chocolate)
- 6 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 C or 350F.
- Prepare a 20cm cake tin by lining it with baking parchment. (Note: I found that this size tin was too small, resulting in a thicker biscuit base and too much filling. Use one slightly larger than 20cm)
- Do this by cutting a circle about 10cm larger thatn the diameter of the tin. Fold around the edges and tuck it in. This will create a rustic border when the cake is cooked. Using the baking parchment, it makes the cake easy to remove from the tin. ( I made a it a big bigger so the paper was like a handle to remove the cake when cooked.)
- Crush the biscuits into crumbs in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in the biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the tin with a big spoon to form an even layer.
- Put the other ingredients into your Creations Kitchen Machine and mix until smooth.
- Pour over the base.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 1- 11/2 hours or until the cheescake has risen and is wobbly/ set on top. It should be cracked and slightly crusty on top.
- Leave to cool for at least an hour.
- When it is cold, hold the paper and the tip of the tin slightly to remove the cheesecake. It is quite solid and will come out easily. Slide a baking sheet between the paper and the cheesecake and put on a serving plate or cake stand.
- Serve at room temperature dusted with icing sugar.
Notes
I decorated mine with raspberries. You can add a selection of summer fruits as well. Alternatively, serve it with pouring cream, ice cream or even chocolate sauce to make it more decadent.
On the night of the judging, the cakes were presented:
- The very serious judges
The judges took a lot of notes, tasted the creations and finally retired to another room to decide. It was quite Xfactor like.
The winner was Heide from Kitchen Secrets who made this amazing Chocolate Pecan cake with Maple Cream.
The Russell Hobbs Creations Range will launch later this year and I was sent one for this challenge and to review.
Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine http://t.co/RhtqtLQp via @SlowFoodKitchen
Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine http://t.co/OYQsJeVr via @SlowFoodKitchen
Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine http://t.co/iqchXnAM via @SlowFoodKitchen
Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine http://t.co/7X5Ak0Jg via @SlowFoodKitchen
Your cheesecake looks stunning with the raspberries in the middle. Interesting that Russell Hobbs are giving KitchenAid & Kenwood a run for their money.
Chocolate and raspberries – mmmm! Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen M… http://t.co/Y0ll6QeX via @SlowFoodKitchen
Love cheesecake and think yours looks great especially topped off with a beautiful pile of raspberries, perfect!
Wow, that looks great!
Ah, so here is your creation! LOVE it! Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitc… http://t.co/2o7YphUl via @SlowFoodKitchen
Chocolate Cheesecake with Russell Hobbs Creations Kitchen Machine @SlowFoodKitchen http://t.co/ahYQAdsY