brownie mosaic cheesecake, part 二

The reason I baked a packet mix the other day, or joining “the dark side” as Alan affectionately called it, is because it was part of a bigger picture. Juggling the ridiculous mountain of Biology past papers and baking, it seemed like a good way to use up some brownies and time. So what is a brownie mosaic cheesecake?

A brownie mosaic cheesecake is…a toasty caramelly-digestive biscuit base, topped with a fluffy vanilla cheesecake with – hold your horses! – an abundance of fudgy, brownie chunks floating in it. The result? One pretty damn orgasmic cheesecake.

It’s time to get down to some serious business. Put on your apron, tie back your hair and roll up those sleeves. We are going to…take out your cream cheese and yoghurt from the fridge. You want to let them warm to room temperature before we do anything because cream cheese hardens really easily.

Now we begin. You want to get some digestive biscuit first. I’m sure an oreo or chocolate biscuit base would be equally blissful, but nothing carries a toffee-like flavour like digestive biscuits do. So there. I used about 175g of digestive biscuits for this crust. If you’re one of those people who absolutely love crust, like me, you can double the crust for a doubly delicious cheesecake. Damn. I should have done that.

Anyway, select your weapon of choice. I decided that the meat tenderising hammer was a good way to smash some biscuits to oblivion.

But then I felt that my gigantic mixing bowl’s life was in danger, so I settled on a much less threatening wooden rolling pin.

Of course, you could just chuck all of it into the food processor but I really cannot be bothered to wash that thing, so instead, I spent a good 10 minutes smashing biscuits into crumbs. Did that not make sense? Get used to it.

Once your biscuits are sufficiently crushed (chunks are cute too!), chuck in 3 tablespoons of fine brown sugar. Then melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of black treacle in the microwave. Do this in little increments of 5-10 seconds because if the treacle boils…well, good luck. Vaguely whisk this mixture together, even though it really doesn’t want to and pour it into your biscuit crumbs (Hulk! Smash!). Mash the mixture together with a pinch of salt until it’s nicely blended and there are no pebbles of brown sugar.

Tip this into your prepared pan. I used a 9 1/2 inch springform pan, but a 9 inch springform would also work. It might be a good idea to grease the sides of the pan. I didn’t, and it came out absolutely fine – just not as pretty as it could have been. Press the crumbs into the base of the pan until there are no gaps and it’s nicely compressed. Loose bases are not cool. Like how if I decided to chainsaw through the foundations of your house, causing a collapse, it would also not be cool. (:

Chuck this into an oven preheated to 175 C for about 10-12 minutes, until it smells DELICIOUS! Take it out and let it cool completely before filling.

…Meanwhile, we’re going to make the cheesecake filling! To make this recipe all that much easier, I chose a really really easy cheesecake recipe. All you do is cream your…cream cheese until it’s nice and fluffy. Then add your sugar and salt and cream that in too.

Basically, cream your mixture after every addition of the following.

Eggs. Vanilla. Yoghurt.

I recommend using full-fat sugar-free yoghurt, by the way. The imported kind. Carrefoure carries it in several brands and they’re all okay for this recipe. The reason I use imported yoghurt is because the texture is more pudding-like, unlike the liquid, sugary Chinese yoghurt.

Can you believe it? You’re almost done already! Chop your brownies roughly to about 1cm cubes and scatter them evenly on your pre-baked crust. Then pour your cheesecake mixture over the top and wiggle the pan about to get the batter around all of the brownie chunks and up to the sides. Bake this for 25-30 minutes in an oven preheated to 175 C, then very quickly rotate the pan 180 degrees and turn off the oven. Without opening the oven door, let the cheesecake sit for about 40 minutes. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the oven and leave it outside for a while. Cheesecakes crack because of sudden temperature changes, but while it’s outside, it’s at risk. While the cheesecake is baking, you should take advantage of the time and prepare a fort and armed guards to protect your cheesecake. When your cheesecake is cool to the touch, you can move it to the fridge.

And that’s it! Now, you can all be jealous of my delicious cheesecake.

See you next time! (;

And that’s the end of my Biology mountain, too!

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

Brownie
Use your favourite brownie mix, or wait for my upcoming low-fat brownie recipe!

Digestive Biscuit Cheesecake Base

Ingredients:

• 175g digestive biscuits
• 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 C.
2. Using preferred weapon, crush biscuits into crumbs in a medium bowl.
3. Add the brown sugar and salt to the crumbs and stir to combine.
4. Melt butter and black treacle together in the microwave, whisk gently, then pour into crumbs.
5. Stir until well combined, then press firmly into the bottom of a 9 or 9 1/2 inch springform pan.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool completely before using.

Vanilla Yoghurt Cheesecake
Adapted from Baking Bites
Ingredients:

• 150g unsalted cream cheese, room temperature
• 350g plain yoghurt, room temperature
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese using a stand mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Approx 1 min.
2. Add sugar and salt beating until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla and yoghurt, beating well after each addition.
3. Blend mixture until extremely smooth, then pour into a 9 or 9 1/2 inch springform with pre-baked base.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then very quickly, rotate the pan 180 degrees. Turn off the oven, and without opening the oven door, let cheesecake sit for about 40 minutes.
5. Let cheesecake cool for at least 2 hours before moving to the fridge.