NO-BAKE AMARULA CHEESECAKE

                     

NON-BAKE AMARULA CHEESECAKE
http://lekkerreseptevirdiejongergeslag.blogspot.com/2013/10/no-bake-amarula-cheesecake.html

Ingredients(Makes a 9-inch round cheesecake)

200 grams digestive biscuits(about 13 McVities)

100 grams butter, melted

200 ml whipping cream(very cold)

150 ml Amarula cream liqueur

4 teaspoon gelatine powder

500 grams cream cheese, softened to room temperature

130 grams caster sugar

30 grams dark chocolate, melted

Preparation Instructions

Step 1: Using a food processor, process the digestives into sandy crumbs. Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor, you can put them in a big bowl and crush them slowly with a glass. So therapeutic!

Step 2: Melt the butter over a low heat, then add the melted butter into the cookie crumbs. Stir till combined. The texture of this should be a little like damp sand.

Step 3: Press the butter and biscuit crumb mixture into a 9-inch springform pan to form an even layer. I learnt that putting a cake base in place of a springform pan base under the pan rim is more effective, especially if you mean to give the cake as a gift! No fuss over transfer of the cake! Pop this crust layer in the freezer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Step 4: Whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Be very careful with this step, because it took me about 3 cartons of whipping cream and a conversation with a chef before I FINALLY learnt how to whip cream correctly. The key is simply to freeze all the equipment beforehand (i.e the beaters and mixing bowl) as everything needs to be extremely cold to prevent the cream from splitting into butter. My other secret is to whip the cream over a bowl of iced water. Also, make very sure not to over-beat.

Step 5: Place the liqueur in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine powder all over the surface. Leave this to stand for 3 minutes. Following this, place the small bowl in a pan/pot of simmering water, heating gently while constantly stirring till ALL the gelatine has dissolved into the liqueur.

Step 6: Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy (texture as shown in the picture).

Step 7: Strain the gelatine and liqueur mixture into the cream cheese and sugar mixture, mixing gently with a spatula.

Step 8: Fold in the whipped cream gently, making sure that everything is well-incorporated.

Step 9: Remove the springform pan containing the crust from the freezer. Pour all of the mixture onto the crust and smooth it out with a spatula.

Step 10: Melt the dark chocolate in the same way that the gelatine was previously melted – put the chocolate into a small bowl over simmering water. The rationale for this is to prevent the chocolate from burning! Once the chocolate has melted, scoop 10 cent-sized dollops of it over the cream cheese mixture. Using a skewer/toothpick, make random swirls all over the cake, taking care not to remove the skewer/toothpick till you are done swirling.

Step 11: Refrigerate the cake for a minimum of 5 hours, but preferably overnight to ensure that it is fully set. When ready to serve: dip a palette knife into hot water and dry it. Run the palette knife along the edges of the cheesecake and remove the pan rim gently.*adapted from FoodieBaker.

…Aaaand here we have an effortlessly beautiful, creamy, boozy and comforting cheesecake with a hint of crunch. How’s THAT for dessert?