Rich Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
Everybody LOVES this cheesecake! It’s very rich, so small servings are in order. Coming back for seconds is also in order! Perfect to bring to a potluck or serve at a dinner party.
Ingredients:
1¾ cup (260g) vegan cookie crumbs (we used Kea gluten-free vanilla cookie crumbs)
3 tablespoons (70g) vegan margarine
1 x 400ml can coconut cream
1 x 250g block Whittaker’s dark chocolate (the 50% variety gives the best result)
Instructions:
1. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2. Melt margarine and combine with cookie crumbs.
3. Press into the base of the lined tin and bake at 180C for 10 minutes.
4. Place coconut cream, chocolate (broken into squares) and cream cheese in a double boiler and warm over medium heat, stirring often, until cream cheese and chocolate are melted. (You can also melt them all together in the microwave if you prefer.)
5. Pour into a food processor and blend until smooth and luscious – then pour over cookie base and put in fridge to set.
6. It will take several hours to be firm enough to serve, but you can make it a day or two ahead. It’s delicious served with fresh slightly tangy fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, mango or peach, or a raspberry sauce.
7. This delicious dessert can be made several days in advance and refrigerated. It also freezes well: because it is dense and a bit challenging to cut when frozen, we recommend cutting it into single serve portions before freezing. It can be stored in the freezer several months.
Notes:
The earliest known mention of cheesecake was in a Greek text of the 5th century BCE. An English cookbook from 1390 included a recipe for a sambocade, made with soft cheese, and flavoured with elderflower and rosewater. But the cheesecake as we know it today did not become widely established until modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872. This product was creamier and heavier than the quark or cottage cheese that had previously been used and was perfect for luscious desserts.
Cheesecakes come in either baked or unbaked versions; the baked ones have a longer history and are sometimes crustless.
In the United States the two most famous cheesecake styles are from Chicago and New York.
Chicago-style is baked, and is firm on the outside with a soft creamy texture inside and somewhat fluffy. The crust is usually made from crushed shortbread mixed with sugar and butter.
The origins of New York–style cheesecake have been traced to Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of the 1930s, especially in the city’s famous Jewish delicatessens.
In Japan baked cheesecake have a fluffy souffle texture and no-bake cheesecakes are known as rare cheesecake.
In the Philippines ube cheesecake predominates: the purple yam (ube) gives a characteristic deep purple colour to the finished dish.
