The summer here has become quite rainy while other parts on this planet suffer under severe draught we have more rain than usual. Anyone from Ireland reading this? I heard you had 3 weeks of now rainfall in May and on average 3 days without rain would be a sensation? What is going on with our weather? To lift the spirit nothing works better than chocolate and caramel und while the Irish Cream Cheesecake is still our favorite to this day this makes a perfect finale for any large dinner party.
The flowers I arranged for our 2 dinner parties in a row with hydrangeas and these beautifully scented freesias. I buy them at the market where they are a lot cheaper and this arrangement was quite stunning and the center of attention - instead of my food ;-)
This one is so easy to prepare ahead and keeps really well in the fridge unless it is eaten, maybe up to 5 days. Let my know which one of the two cheesecake recipes you liked better.
You Need
For up to 12 servings
Preparation Time 30 min
Cooking Time 1 hour plus 1 hour cooling time
100g melted Butter
200g oat cookies
275g 54% -70% dark chocolate
600g Philadelphia cheese
125 g Crème fraîche
200g sugar
4 eggs
Bonne Maman caramel in a jar
1 tbsp. Fleur the sel
All ingredients should have room temperature.
Preheat the oven and place a pan that fits the cake diameter on the lower rack, fill it halfway with warm water.
I use a 20 cm baking form with a loose bottom and line it with parchment paper.
Wrap the outside of the form with 3 layers of aluminum foil all the way to the top . This is necessary to prevent the water to seep into the cake when you cook it. It helps to have a larger sized foil for professionals or to make it real tight.
Put the cookies in a blender and add the melted butter. Mix until the cookies and the butter are well combined and spread the crumbs evenly into the form, press it down with the help of a small pastry rolling pin, or something flat and let it harden in the fridge while you make the second part of the cake.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or like I do on very low heat under constant stirring. Set aside and let cool for 5 min.
Combine the cream cheese, the crème fraîche and sugar in the bowl of your stand up mixer and mix on medium speed until creamy. Add one egg at the time and then add the cooled chocolate under the cheese mix until well combined. And pour it in the prepared form until 2cm | ½ inch away from the rim. If you have left over cheesecake dough fill it in small glasses and bake it along with the big one but only after 20 min of the baking time. You do want the cheesecake to be moist and creamy.
Set the cake into the water and let cook for 1 hour. Then turn off the heat and leave the oven door slightly openso the heat can get out the cake cools slowly down. Transfer the cake into the fridge after you removed the foil. This will make the crust even crispier and you do want to eat it cold.
Before you serve the cake spread the caramel on the top and sprinkle the salt over it.
