Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Wanting to celebrate National Cheesecake Day, (which is tomorrow, Sunday the 30th by the way) but find yourself with very little time, baking knowledge or motivation?

Fear not for today, along with some great Aldi Baking products, I am going to help you create tasty morsels of delight, in plenty of time for National Cheesecake Day*. Sure what more could you want?

*Imagine my telephone voice... Can you tell I have always wanted my own baking show?! Haha!

These mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecake are genuinely simple and really delicious! A ready made cookie dough, chopped up and squashed into the bottom of some cupcake liners form the base. A creamy mix of 5.. FIVE folks.. that's one hands worth of ingredients makes the cheesecake mixture, forms the baked filling with some extra chocolate chips thrown in for good measure!

This cheats bake, easy make is perfect for those with limited baking experience or for those of you who want something nice to have, but want as little effort as possible! Aldi and I have got you both covered.

Cheesecake Mixture

400g cream cheese, softened

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100g chocolate chips

Crust

1 packet Cookie Dough, chopped and shaped into 12 circles

Whipped Cream Topping

250ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Putting it together...

Preheat oven to 180C/350F or Gas mark 4.  

Line a 12 hole cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

Press a circle of cookie dough into the bottom of each cavity.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and the sugar together.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in miniature chocolate chips.

Pour cream cheese mixture into each cupcake liner about  ¾ of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes, then turn off oven and leave the door slightly open to allow the cheesecakes to cool for a further 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack before removing from pan. They may dip in the centre during cooling.

Whisk together sugar and the double cream until stiff peaks form.

Top cheesecakes with whipped cream and serve. 

***Disclaimer: Sponsored Post*** 

Aldi very kindly, provided me with the ingredients to bring this post together.

All comments and views however, are completely my own.

Vanilla, Pecan Pie Cheesecake

It seems oddly fast how quickly November is progressing. Not that I have an huge problem with this, more that I am not the biggest fan of November itself. Once Champs birthday is over, we kind of have a nothing month.. Just a countdown until I can start to decorate for Christmas. 

The Americans, in all their ruffled, presidential upheaval have Thanksgiving in the middle; to break up the monotony. We don't celebrate this obviously, but I do like the desserts that come out around this time. 

Imagine I have never made a pecan pie? And I still haven't considering I made this up into a cheesecake instead. But it seems so alien, that one of my favourite nuts and my penchant for pastry have yet to meet in my kitchen. They will one day I'm sure. Just not today.

Today is a baked vanilla cheesecake, soft, fluffy and oh so creamy. Topped with a dark caramel, nutty goo, that hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Perfect to share with friends. Perfect to keep to yourself... because who needs friends anyway...

You've got cheesecake. 

Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

The Crust
200g  digestive biscuits
80g toasted pecans
85g butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/ Gas Mark 5.
In a medium bowl of a food processor, crush together the biscuits and pecans.
Melt the butter and mix together the crumbs.
Press into a 9 or 10 inch round spring form tin.
Bake for 10 minutes until the crumbs have set and turned a dark golden colour.
Allow to cool fully.

The Vanilla Filling
Three (3) 225g packets of full fat cream cheese
60ml of double cream
2tbsps of flour
pinch of salt
200g caster sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1tsp of vanilla extract

Reduce the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
Beat the cream cheese, double cream, flour and salt until smooth and fluffy.
Add the sugar and continue until smooth.
Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, mixing in the next after the last yolk has been incorporated.
Beat all the ingredients until smooth, ensuring there are no lumps or bumps.
Pour into the cooled crust.

Sit the spring form tin in a large baking sheet, that has sides to allow you to fill the baking sheet with water. Fill your baking sheet with boiling hot water, about 1/3 the way up the cheesecake tins wall.
Put the whole lot in the oven for 50-55 minutes. Until the top has turned golden and when you move it, the center jiggles a little bit.

Crack open the oven after the time allotted with a wooden spoon. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool fully in the oven.

Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

When you are ready to make the topping, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and the pan, if you have not already done so.

The Pecan Pie Topping

180g soft brown sugar

45ml double cream

30ml maple syrup (or honey or corn syrup)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

150g toasted chopped pecans

Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the pecans to a small pot. Over a medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, stir through the pecans and allow to cool. 

Putting it altogether...
Once the pecan topping has cooled, scrap out the bowl on top of the cheesecake and spread to the edges. I kept mine slightly away from the edge to allow for some whipped cream swirls.. The cheesecake can be served at this stage, or kept up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

You wont get to three days. You'll have it eaten.

I photographed the cheesecake after some time in the fridge. At room temperature the topping is much gooier! YUM!

Linking up here and here with #bakeoftheweek... A new feature for me, but I do love to link up with other bakers and foodies. So much inspiration out there... You might find something you like too!

Blackberry with Whiskey Cheesecake

And we are finished. Thesis handed up as of yesterday morning. Finished. Finito. Doneski. No more thesis writing... you get the drift! And it has all been a bit overwhelming the last few days but hey that's how life rolls.. ups and downs, in and outs and all that's in between. 

On to cake.. because lets face it, that's what you like to come here for, and not my simple meanderings! This month with the Cakeslice Bakers was an easy peasy, no brainer. The minute I saw the choices, I knew I was picking this cheesecake. Aaaannddd eh... as excited as I was to get started, I don't know what to say about this cheesecake now that it's finished. 

• First up, it broke my food processor. So there was that. From then on, I held a bit a of a grudge. Now to be honest my processor was on it's last legs, but this bake was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak and well yeah.. Grudge. 
• Second, I didn't have the scotch the bake called for so made the executive decision to swap it out for whiskey. Not that big a deal. 
• Third, it calls for frozen blackberries. Which we can't buy here, that I know of, so I had to buy fresh and then freeze them as they are not quite in season just yet.

Once I had gotten over the processor break down and popped that shortbread crust in the oven, I started to get happy. The smell was yum, but I over baked the crust by about 5 minutes. Uuggghhh... Moving swiftly on, I made the filling and dropped in those purple pops of yum and was really beginning to warm up to this bake.

I baked it up, delighted with the result and 100% believed I had turned this whole exchange around... But then... Then came the sour cream, waste of ingredients topping. There was no need for it. What it did was cover a once pretty cheesecake with sour cream gloop. 

Not all doom and gloom however.. I called in a tasting party because I was clearly not impartial at this stage. Husband and I flitted between.. "its umm... yeah, there's um.." and "I'm not sure if it's um... or if it's am..." but the tasting party.. they liked it. And I mean LIKED it liked it. 

"I thought the whiskey would over power it but, no its really good", "I'm going to take just another slice to be sure I like it." "No Haze, this is pretty much all sorts of good."

So I know nothing about cake in this instance clearly.. I am missing something. I like ALL cake.. Or you know maybe,  folk can indeed like something I don't... You decide for yourself!

Blackberry with Whiskey Cheesecake 

adapted from Maida Heatter's Cake Pg 155

Shortbread Base

180g sifted self-raising flour
55g granulated sugar
125g cold, butter

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F or Gas Mark 5.
Wrap the outside bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan with tinfoil and set to one side.
Chop your butter into smallish squares and put all the ingredients into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse the mixture until it resembles fine bread crumbs.
Run the crumbs through your fingers a few times to make even finer crumbs and then toss out into the prepared pan.
Squash the crumbs down to the bottom of the pan so they form a compact crust, on the bottom only.
Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, but the crust will be dark brown around the edges, leading to golden on top. ***While it's baking, make the filling***

Take it out and reduce the oven to 180C/375F or Gas Mark 4.

Leave to cool for a few moments on the counter once you take it out.

Butter the sides of the pan with some melted butter, all the way to the crust. The pan may still be hot, so be careful.

Cheesecake Filling

538g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 tbsp of whiskey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
150g granulated sugar
3 eggs
226g frozen blackberries

Beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth. Add the vanilla, whiskey, cinnamon and sugar and beat until combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time beating until smooth after each addition.

Once you have buttered you pan, pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust. Then plop the frozen blackberries all over the mixture leaving little spaces in between. Push them softly into the mixture, covering only some of the berry.

Bake at 180C/375F or Gas Mark 4 for 35-40 minutes until the sides of the cake have risen and slightly browned, and the centre will be dry to touch but still squidgy on the inside.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 20 minutes. (Start pre-heating your oven again about the 15 min mark.)

Now to be honest I wouldn't bother with this next part... Once cooled, I'd just shove that beauty of a cheesecake into the fridge to firm up for a few hours and bobs your uncle.. you're a star... BUT if you do want to proceed.. here you go!

Sour Cream Topping

450g sour cream
1tbsp granulated sugar
1ts vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the three ingredients.
Once the cheesecake has cooled for 20 minutes, pour the sour cream topping over the cheesecake and and with the back of a spoon, spread it all  out.

Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the foil and let stand until cool.

When the cake is cooled, release it from it's pan by running a sharp knife around the edges and clipping the side off. Pop the whole thing in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours, but over night is best.

Now I betcha some of the other bakers made this... and I betcha they loved it. It wasn't for me personally but it sure pleased some folk!

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake

There was no competition this month.

Before I had even read the recipe I knew that this was my choice with the Cake Slice Bakers. It had all the promise of being something spectacular... Brownies, Baked Cheesecake.. am HELLO! Where have you been all my life? I read the description, Maida Heatter always provides some little description of the cake, and chuckled.

"It is fascinating to eat both cheesecake and Brownies in the same bite. And it is gorgeous." 

Such sweet simplicity right. What could go wrong?

I remembered that the book was first published back in 1982 (I have the 2011 reprint) and while I am thoroughly enjoying baking through the book, I think it can feel a tad outdated sometimes. Methods have evolved and so too has kitchen equipment. The recipe for this cake I found to be convoluted and yielded very mixed opinions.

There was no doubt that it was tasty. But for me, the laborious nature of the recipe made it lacklustre. The brownie recipe turned out way to dry. That's not a brownie as I understand it. There was no chewy, gooeyness. Just a dry, softness. But they stayed firm and held together during the bake.

The cheesecake was gloriously creamy. I don't own an 8 inch spring form (What the actual?? I know right?) so used a 9 inch and it made a huge difference. The cake didn't puff up like I am used to in a baked cheesecake- but that one is on me. The mix itself contains A LOT of sugar. The top of the cheesecake coated itself in this rather delicious crisp sugar shell, almost creme brulee like. Not a bad thing per say, just not expected.

I have adapted the recipe below to make it more convenient, an updated version for you to try. The flavours all meld together to make it a very worthy bake, but there is no need for it to be so tedious. I am going to help you cut down on all of that "hard work"!!

Chocolate Brownies

adapted from Maida Heatter's Cakes, pg 152.

180g self raising flour
3 tbsps coco powder
125g butter
60g dark chocolate
1tsp instant coffee (powder or granular)
1/2 tsp vanilla
200g sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
Line and 8 inch square pan with tin foil, shiny side up. Spray with some cake release spray or brush over with some melted butter.
Sift the flour and the coco powder together.
In a sauce pan, over a low heat, put the chocolate and butter. Stir occasionally until melted.
Stir in the coffee and vanilla. Add the sugar and stir thoroughly. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition until incorporated.
Finally fold in the flour and coco mixture.
Pop the mixture into the prepared tin and then into the oven for about 20 minutes. Just check with a skewer in the middle, if it comes out clean, you are good to go.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Once cool, flip the brownies out and wrap them in cling film. Pop them straight into the freezer to go cold and to make them easier to chop up into little bits.

Once you have chopped them up, keep them cold in the fridge.

You will have a lot of brownies.. cut them up any size you want. I went with chunky for this cheesecake and we used the rest in ice cream. And we just ate them out of that bowl, as we passed them on the counter. And because they are so small, you just keep popping them your mouth.

Uuuuggghh... Bite size brownies are the worst.

Cheesecake Base

300g digestive biscuits
100g butter

Preheat your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
Smash the the biscuits into smithereens whatever way you know how. I use the therapeutic Ziploc bag and rolling pin method.
Melt the butter.
Add the butter to the biscuits and mix until all together.
Press gently into a spring form pan, ideally an 8 inch round and bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes. Keep the oven on.

Remove the pan and allow to cool. Boil the kettle.

Baked Cheesecake

450g cream cheese (ideally Philadelphia but really the best you can afford)
1 tsp vanilla
275g sugar
4 eggs

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and then the sugar. Beat again until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, just until the yolk has disappeared.
Add the wet mix in on top of your biscuit base.
From the fridge plop in your bite size brownie chunks and give it a quick swirl if you want to.
Put the spring form tin into a oven proof pan with a high ridge. Pour the just boiled kettle water around the spring form pan, up as far as your supporting pan will allow, and bake the cheesecake in the oven for about 1 hour.

After an hour, turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to fully cool in the oven.

You could then pop it in the fridge. It'd make cutting portions easier but the creaminess is more apparent at room temperature.

I figured the cheesecake would spill up over the brownies and almost encase them, but alas the 9 inch pan was just that little too big for this mix to do that. Not a big deal. But you know yerself now, aesthetically it would have been nicer I think.

Like I said, there is no argument. What I baked was tasty. The brownies added that chocolate flavour layer and broke through the cool, creamy vanilla of the cheesecake. The biscuit crumb cut through all the sweet, providing that hint of crunch. It was a great idea bake, just not what I was hoping it would be like.

Go see what the other bakers whipped up this month... I know there are a few more cheesecakes to behold! I wonder how they fared out?

An InLinkz Link-up

Creme Brulee Baked Cheesecake

I always find that when I am milling about the house, doing a hundred different things my mind is at it's clearest. I know that probably makes no sense in any real terms but when I have a few jobs to do I make a list. I hop from item to item on the list, marking off as I go. The marking off brings that clarity. It seems to be once there's one less think to think about, I can think more freely.

And it's then that I come up with random cake or bake ideas. 

I have a book, I put them in. Most never come to fruition because of reasons like.. I don't have the money for that amount of gold leaf, or I'm not sure that ingredient has been invented yet or... Am no, just no!

Now I am not saying that this Baked Cheesecake notion is new or even mine. But it did pop into my head while I was thinking about dessert week on this weeks Great British Bake Off. This weeks task was Creme Brulee, Cheesecake or Windtorte.

Creme Brulee or Cheesecake.. Creme Brulee... or Cheesecake... Finkle and Einhorn... 

CREME BRULEE CHEESECAKE! 

And as I mentally patted myself on the back for my ingenuity, I started making a new list.. of ingredients and things to add to the pantry.  Because damn.. I had such a good feeling about this!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake it was to be.

This super rich, creamy and oh-my-goodness-get-in-my-belly baked cheesecake is genuinely the best I have ever made. I have never really had any huge success with baked cheesecakes. They either crack, sink and fall in all the places you don't want them to. I scoured Pinterest looking for tips on handling a baked cheesecake and was pleasantly surprised with how little I had to change. With a few easy steps I was able to use my own recipe, the one I like the taste of, to get it perfect.

And I mean perfect when I say it. This is me blowing my cheesecake trumpet here.. Toot! Toot! Toot! Leaving the brulee aside, this baked vanilla cheesecake is the bees knees.

Creme Brulee Baked Cheesecake

The Biscuit Base/ The Crust
300g (crushed to crumbs) digestive biscuit
3 tbsps of demerara sugar
125g butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F.
In a medium bowl mix together the crumbs, butter and sugar and press into a 9 or 10 inch round spring form tin.
Bake for 91-2 minutes until the crumbs have set and turned a dark golden colour.
Allow to cool fully. (Pinterest TIP #1; Allowing the crust to cool down significantly).

The Vanilla Filling
Three (3) 225g packets of full fat cream cheese
60ml of double cream
2tbsps of flour
pinch of salt
300g caster sugar
4 large eggs
the seeds from one vanilla pod

Reduce the oven to 150C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
Beat the cream cheese, double cream, flour and salt until smooth and fluffy.
Add the sugar and continue until smooth.
Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, mixing in the next after the last yolk has been incorporated.
Beat all the ingredients until smooth, ensuring there are no lumps or bumps.
Pour into the cooled crust.

(Pinterest TIP #2) Sit the springform tin in a large baking sheet, that has sides to allow you to fill the baking sheet with water. Fill your baking sheet with boiling hot water, about 1/3 the way up the cheesecake tins wall.
Put the whole lot in the oven for 50-55 minutes. Until the top has turned golden and when you move it, the centre jiggles a little bit.

Crack open the oven after the time alloted with a wooden spoon. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool fully in the oven. Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight.

Eat, as is the next day or brulee the top like I did.

Brulee:
Now I know that on the show.. you weren't allowed use a blowtorch. But guess what.. I'm not on that show. I did my time in the tent.. I will Creme Brulee the top of whatever I want, the way want to.

Sprinkle two tablespoons of sugar over the top of the baked and cooled cheesecake and just let at it with a kitchen blowtorch. Make sure you evenly coat the top of the cheesecake with sugar, and then use the blowtorch evenly to burn it. I over browned mine in spots but that crisp caramel texture was really good throughout.

As too was cutting through the top and getting the "crunch".. That audible crisp; that is basically the signature sound of Creme Brulee.

Once again I am linking up Jenny of Mummy Mishaps and with the wonderful bloggers of Great Bloggers Bake Off.

This week the lovely Michelle of Utterly Scrummy Food For Families is our host. Make sure you pop by over the next while and see what all the other bloggers have baked in homage to this weeks Bake Off.