Terry's Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

What better way to restart the weekend blog posts than with a festive Terry's Chocolate Orange Cheesecake!

This is a no-bake cheesecake so really does require minimal effort but will wow dinner guests or family this Christmas because its big on flavour and full of all the fun things in life. I recently made this for the second year running for my #friendmas and it went down a treat yet again.

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling:
500g full-fat cream cheese
85g icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 x 175g Terry’s chocolate orange (1 normal & 1 dark chocolate)
300ml double cream


Biscuit Base:
600g chocolate digestive biscuits
280g unsalted butter
Decoration:
Terry’s chocolate orange segments, mix of normal and dark

Putting it all Together

To prepare the base: Melt the butter in the microwave. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Tip the mixture into a 23cm springform cake tin and press down until firm smoothing over with the back of the spoon. Pop in the fridge to chill and get started on filling.

Melt the chocolate orange over a bain-marie and leave to cool slightly. In a mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, orange extract and the icing sugar until softened. In another bowl whisk the cream until soft peaks form.

Fold the cream cheese and cream together and then pour in the chocolate and fold through.

Get the tin out of the fridge and then spoon the chocolatey cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base and smooth over with a spatula. Pop the orange segments on in an alternating pattern, cover and pop back in the fridge to chill for around 6 hours, or if you can overnight.

When you are ready to serve to all those hungry people, remove the cheesecake from the tin and decorate.

Serve with some cream and you are good to go. Christmas in a cheesecake!

White Chocolate & Summer Fruits Mousse

Perfect for having for pud after a romantic dinner this Valentine's weekend or maybe just because you like tasty treats! Try to split one if you can but best make two as you will be reluctant to share!

Ingredients

500g summer fruits
225g white chocolate
7g powdered gelatine
450ml double cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
30g icing sugar

Method to the Madness

Put three quarters of the fruit into a blender and whizz until smooth and pureed. Press through a sieve into a bowl to get rid of the pips.

Slice some of the remaining fruit and add to the puree and add the lemon juice.

Heat your white chocolate in a pan

In a small bowl add the gelatine to about 50ml of water and leave to stand for 5 minutes

Place a quarter of the cream along with all the icing sugar into a plan and simmer until warm. Add the gelatine water and stir for five minutes making sure the mixture doesnt boil.

Pour the mixture into the melted chocolate and stir until smooth before adding three quarters of the puree

Put the remaining cream in a bowl and whisk until peaks forrm.

Fold the cream into the chocolate and fruit mixture.

 Transfer the mixture into glasses and place in the fridge for a minimum of two hours but preferably overnight.

Add some of the remaining puree and grate some white chocolate over to serve.

Happy Valentine's Day all!

C x

Recipe - Salted Caramel Brownies

If you are feeling indulgent and want a break from your January resolutions then you have come to the right place!

These Salted Caramel Brownies are ridiculously moreish and the dark chocolate and sweet and salt caramel work together in a sticky mess that will make your mouth water just a little bit.

Click the picture below to see what I mean!

C x

Recipe - Chocolate, Cherry & Honeycomb Parfait

Ingredients

200g chocolate - I used milk as I'm not a massive fan of dark chocolate but the choice is yours!
85g blanched almonds
150g margarine
85g glace cherries
100g dried cranberries

For the honeycomb:

5tbsp granulated sugar
2tbsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method to the madness

Begin by making the honeycomb. Generously grease a baking tray with vegetable oil. Melt the sugar and golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat. Once it has all melted together turn up the heat until it bubbles into a gorgeous caramel colour.

Whisk in the bicarbonate of soda. The syrup will foam up and once it has pour it immediately into the greased baking tray and set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Once set whack with a knife until you have broken it all up.

Line a loaf tin with enough clingfilm so there is some clingfilm hanging over the edge and try to make it as crease-free as possible. Roughly chop up the almonds before moving on to the chocolate mix.

Break up the chocolate into a glass bowl and add the margarine before heating over a pan of simmering water until they are melted together.

Take the bowl off the heat and stir in the chopped honeycomb, almonds, cherries and cranberries.

Spoon the mixture in to the tin and fold the overhanging clingfilm loosely over the parfait and pop in the freezer for an hour.

Remove from the freezer and transfer the parfait to the fridge until completely set. Once you're ready to serve, carefully lift the parfait from the tin, unwrap the clingfilm and cut into slices.

I think the second time I make this I will pour the mixture straight from the pan into the tin and freeze. I let the mixture cool for too long and as such the butter slightly separated itself. The mixture is a gooey, sticky sugary, melty taste explosion and I would recommend making this.

C x