Liesa's chocolate cheesecake

Individual size chocolate cheesecake topped with strawberry.

I am not one for keeping recipes to myself, but if I was, then this is the one I would keep. It makes appearances only on special occassions like Christmas and birthdays. I have made mini sized cheesecakes in mini muffin tins for parties and individual servings for the family in regular sized muffin tins. At Christmas we always decorate it with Ferrerro Rocher chocolates just to make it a little bit more special.

Base:

1 packet Arnotts choc ripple biscuits (crushed to fine crumbs)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake:

250g good quality dark chocolate

1 block (250g) Cream cheese

1/3 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup nutella (or a bit more cause it is so yummy)

1/4 cup boiling water

2 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine

600ml thickened cream

1/4 cup nutella (decoration)

Method:

Line base of a springform pan with baking paper cut out to fit base. Combine biscuit crumbs and melted butter and press into base of pan. Refrigerate until hardened.

Next, soften the cream cheese. I soften my cream cheese on med-low power and then beat it together with the icing sugar. Set aside. Melt chocolate in microwave on med power until smooth. While chocolate is melting whip half the cream (300ml) until soft peaks form. Set aside. Add melted chocolate to cream cheese mix along with the nutella. Disolve gelatine in water until it is clear. Add to mixture and beat until smooth and well combined. Now, with a metal spoon, gently fold the whipped cream through the cheesecake mixture until it is all combined.

Spoon into ther pan over the base and chill for 2 hours or until set.

Topping:

Whip the remainder of the cream until just whipped, use a heaped spoonful and mix together with the nutella to soften it a bit. Once the nutella is a thinner consistency, gently add it to the remaining cream, swirling to give a marbled effect. Spoon or pipe on to set cheesecake, or decorate as desired.

Note: When making smaller ones in muffin tins, for easy removal you must line the base with small rounds of baking paper or they are too difficult to remove in one piece. Trust me!

Cherry filled Matchsticks

This is a variation of the traditional strwberry (jam) filled matchsticks. I used a can of cherry pie filling (bought in the US), but any sweet filling can be used.

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 can cherry pie filling or jar of good quality strawberry jam

1 c fresh cream

1/2 c icing sugar

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200C.

Cut puff pastry into half, then quartes so you end up with eight pieces. Place on baking paper lined tray and bake until well puffed and lightly browned. Cool completely and cut in half lengthways. Whip cream together with 1/4 c icing sugar until thick. Spoon cherries (or jam) over base, then cream. Replace pastry lid and dust with remaining icing sugar.

Apple Crumble

It has always been one of our favourite desserts. It's quick and easy and the boys can even make it without me.

Apple Crumble


Ingredients (serves 6)
800g can apple pie fruit
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
150g butter, chilled, cubed
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Spoon apple into a 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish.
Place flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter into a food processor. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in oats and coconut. Spoon mixture over apple. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot.