Chocolate and Caramel Brownie Mini Cheesecakes

 

 

Coming back from our honeymoon in the Galapagos Islands earlier this year, we had a very long layover at Miami airport. To kill some time we went to a nearby shopping mall and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory - the third US city where I've eaten at one of those restaurants. I can't get enough of the cheesecake!

This time I had the caramel pecan turtle cheesecake - named after a particular brand of chocolate called turtles. It consisted of a pecan brownie and caramel-fudge swirl cheesecake, topped with caramel turtle pecans and chocolate. It was so good- though of course I couldn't eat more than half of it!

Back at the airport, shopping to use up the last of my dollars, I bought a packet of  - which contained a pecan and soft caramel covered in chocolate. I'd had them before so didn't eat them right away and brought them home. A few weeks ago I found them in the cupboard and decided to see if I could recreate the Cheesecake Factory dessert. The only caveat being that my husband doesn't like nuts!

I found this copycat recipe which looks amazing; but I was making the dessert on a night when I had been out all day and needed to make some shortcuts. I also wanted to turn them into mini cheesecakes rather than one large one. I'd just had an Asda delivery a couple of days before so had bought some chocolate brownies; I used these as the base of my dessert, cutting out a circle to put in the bottom of a silicon muffin tray.

 

I followed the recipe instructions for the filling, using a tin of Carnation caramel for the caramel sauce. This is the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla mixture, poured on top of the brownie base which was obviously already cooked as it was ready made.



 

I mixed the chocolate sauce with the caramel sauce and swirled it in to the cheesecake mixture:

 

 

Here they are after being baked in the oven.

 

 

I topped each mini cheesecake with a layer of Carnation caramel and a drizzle of chocolate sauce - I used Choc Shot as you can squeeze out a thin drizzle easily. Finally I topped each one with a mini chocolate turtle.

 

 

Here is the view from the side. These were amazing - one mini cheesecake was enough as they are quite rich but the flavours of the caramel and chocolate, and the texture of the cheesecake on the brownie base, were just amazing. Almost as good as at the Cheesecake Factory!

 

 

I'm sending these to Treat Petite, hosted by Stuart at Cakeyboi and Kat, the Baking Explorer, for their monthly baking challenge.

 

 

I'm also sharing these with We Should Cocoa, hosted by Choclette at Tin and Thyme.

 

Epic 5-Layer Chocolate Cheesecake, Cheesecake Factory Style

My boyfriend and I moved into our dream home in August. It didn't look much like our dream home for the first month (and still doesn't really) as we immediately undertook a huge redecorating project. We didn't like the dusky pink carpets (or the fact that they had carpeted around wardrobes so when they took the furniture, there were sections of floor in two bedrooms with no carpet at all) so decided to get wood flooring throughout the house. It also needed a fresh coat of paint and it seemed a lot easier to do that before the new floor was done, meaning something of a race against time before the floor guys started. We also realised it made a lot more sense to redecorate before we unpacked, as it was a lot easier to shift boxes. So it was only six weeks in to living in the house that I finished unpacking the kitchen and made it useable and look nice; our bedroom is almost done but the other rooms in the house are still full of boxes!

Needless to say I hadn't made any cakes while all this was going on, and hadn't even been doing that much 'proper' cooking. I always felt that the first cake in my new kitchen needed to be a showstopper and something really memorable to mark our new lives in our new home. So no pressure then!

I knew it had to involve chocolate as my boyfriend wouldn't want anything less, and I've always loved cheesecake. Since visiting the Cheesecake Factory in America (I have eaten there four times now - not all on the same trip!) I have been obsessed with recreating their particular style of cheesecake. There are various copycat recipes on the internet and I previously made this Oreo cheesecake, which was very good but it was a baked cheesecake and didn't have the same creamy texture that I remembered at the Cheesecake Factory.

This recipe is for their Godiva cheesecake, as you are supposed to make it using Godiva chocolate, though it says at the end of the recipe that it would taste pretty much the same using any chocolate such as Hershey's -I think not! Godiva chocolates are Belgian and in my opinion taste very different to Hershey's which of course is American. But as I couldn't get hold of any Godiva chocolate, I used Tesco Finest 74% dark chocolate.

This cheesecake tastes much, much better than the Oreo cheesecake I made - and that one was pretty great. In fact I think this chocolate cheesecake- which I am calling my five-layer chocolate cheesecake, due to the way I decorated it - is quite possibly the best thing I have ever baked. And that's saying something. It has a cake rather than biscuit base which works really well and is something I will do again.

It takes pretty much all day to make as you have to allow a few hours chilling layers; I actually made it over two days as I started it one day but went to bed with toothache in the afternoon so had to finish it the next day!

I altered a few of the ingredients slightly and converted the measurements from US to UK.

Here's what I did.

You need:
For the cake base:
200g plain chocolate
225g butter
125g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated

For the chocolate cheesecake layer:
400g cream cheese
3 eggs
65g caster sugar
100g plain chocolate

For the chocolate mousse layer:
100g milk chocolate
400ml double cream

For the chocolate ganache layer:
100g plain chocolate
150ml double cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp golden syrup

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened to room temperature^[5]
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Godiva melting chocolate

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Godiva melting chocolate
• 14 ounces cold heavy cream^[6]

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ganache Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter^[7]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Toppings

• 1 square of Godiva chocolate for each slice (optional)^[1]
• Whipped cream (optional)

Recipe by CopycatRecipeGuide's Food Editors

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.^[5]
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Melt the chocolate, vanilla, and butter for the flourless cake in a double boiler.
4. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.
5. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
6. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar, and beat to a stiff peak.
7. Fold in the egg whites.
8. Start the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.^[3]
9. Beat remaining ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
10. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan; carefully top with cheesecake batter.
11. Bake for 40-50 minutes until firm.
12. Chill for at least 4 hours.^[7]
13. Make the mousse by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat to cool.
14. Beat the cream until somewhat thick. Beat in the melted chocolate until soft peaks form.^[6]
15. Layer the mousse over the top of the cheesecake and chill.
16. Start the ganache by adding the chocolate and butter to a food processor.
17. Boil the cream with the sugar.
18. Add the cream mixture to the food processor, add vanilla, and and process.
19. Refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable, then spread over the cake.
20. Refrigerate until chilled through.
21. Slice the cake into 12 equal servings.

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpu

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ingredients

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened to room temperature^[5]
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Godiva melting chocolate

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Godiva melting chocolate
• 14 ounces cold heavy cream^[6]

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Ganache Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter^[7]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Toppings

• 1 square of Godiva chocolate for each slice (optional)^[1]
• Whipped cream (optional)

Recipe by CopycatRecipeGuide's Food Editors

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.^[5]
2. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Melt the chocolate, vanilla, and butter for the flourless cake in a double boiler.
4. Beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar.
5. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.
6. Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually add remaining sugar, and beat to a stiff peak.
7. Fold in the egg whites.
8. Start the cheesecake filling by melting the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.^[3]
9. Beat remaining ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.
10. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan; carefully top with cheesecake batter.
11. Bake for 40-50 minutes until firm.
12. Chill for at least 4 hours.^[7]
13. Make the mousse by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat to cool.
14. Beat the cream until somewhat thick. Beat in the melted chocolate until soft peaks form.^[6]
15. Layer the mousse over the top of the cheesecake and chill.
16. Start the ganache by adding the chocolate and butter to a food processor.
17. Boil the cream with the sugar.
18. Add the cream mixture to the food processor, add vanilla, and and process.
19. Refrigerate until the ganache is spreadable, then spread over the cake.
20. Refrigerate until chilled through.
21. Slice the cake into 12 equal servings.

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpuf

Cheesecake Factory Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup Godiva melting chocolate
• 1 cup sugar^[3]
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs, separated^[4]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

- See more at: http://www.copycatrecipeguide.com/How_to_Make_Cheesecake_Factory_Godiva_Chocolate_Cheesecake#sthash.aMLnmo15.dpuf

Start by making the base; grease a 9-inch cake tin - the loose-bottom kind is best. I have one with a glass base which is great for serving the cake from. Preheat oven to 175C.

For the cake base, melt the butter and chocolate in a small pan over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool (though not set). Then separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks with half the sugar in a bowl.  Fold in the chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and add the remaining sugar. Fold this in to the chocolate mixture and spoon into your prepared tin and level off.



Next make the cheesecake layer. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave and leave to cool but not set. Beat the cream cheese, eggs and sugar in a bowl then mix in the melted chocolate.

Pour this layer on top of the raw cake layer in your prepared tin and put the tin in the oven for 45-50 minutes.





When baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool- do not remove the cake from the tin so it will take a while to cool down. When cold enough to put in the fridge, chill for at least two hours or overnight if desired.

To make the chocolate mousse layer, melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave and allow to cool but not set. Beat the cream in a bowl until you have peaks then stir in the melted chocolate. Spread over the top of the cheesecake.

To make the ganache, heat the cream in a pan until almost simmering (don't allow it to boil) then add the chocolate in small pieces. Add the butter and golden syrup as well. Remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate has melted. Allow to cool a little so the mixture isn't hot but is still a pouring consistency. Pour over the top of the cheesecake and return to the fridge to set for 1-2 hours.



I decorated my cheesecake with caramel-filled Hershey's Kisses which my boyfriend's mum had brought back from her recent trip to America, but you could use any kind of chocolate decorations e.g. chocolate curls, other chocolate candy, grated chocolate etc.

As Paul Hollywood would say, you can see the lamination!

This is up there with - if not above - the best cakes I have ever made. It's incredibly calorific but so rich you can only eat a tiny slice (unless you are my boyfriend, who can manage a bit more!) but really just amazing. I'm already planning a similar version but with a caramel layer!

I'm sending this to Cook Blog Share, hosted by Lucy at SuperGoldenBakes, as it's an opportunity to share anything you have made.

The theme for this month's Love Cake, hosted by Ness at JibberJabberUK, is 'dark'. This recipe uses dark (plain) chocolate and is also a dark, decadent dessert perfect for winter evenings.

I think the dark layers of this cheesecake would also work well for a sophisticated Halloween dinner - and if you wanted to make it a bit less sophisticated you could decorate the top with spooky decorations like bats. For that reason, I'm sharing this with We Should Cocoa, which has a Halloween theme this month. This time it's hosted by Hannah at Honey and Dough; the challenge was started by Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog.

Oreo Cheesecake

I made this when my boyfriend moved in with me back in the summer for our first weekend together. He loves Oreos and chocolate desserts so I wanted to recreate an Oreo cheesecake I had at the Cheesecake Factory in Las Vegas last year, which was absolutely amazing.

I found a recipe on this website which posts copycat recipes for dishes from the Cheesecake Factory. I don't know how close to the original this recipe is, as in my opinion it didn't taste all that similar - I was surprised the recipe called for the cheesecake to be baked, as the one I had in the restaurant was very creamy and didn't taste or look baked at all. Either way the one I made was very good!

Adapted from a recipe by Cheesecake Factory At Home

You need:
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2.5 packs Oreo cookies
500g soft cheese
1 cup caster sugar
5 eggs
1 cup crème fraiche
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp vanilla flavouring
pinch of salt
packet of mini Oreos to decorate

Begin by crushing 2 packets of Oreo cookies in a food processor until you have crumbs. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix with the melted butter and press down in the bottom of a loose-bottomed cake tin.

Beat the soft cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy then beat in the eggs and sugar. Next mix in the crème fraiche, flour, vanilla and salt.

Roughly chop half a packet of Oreos and mix the pieces into the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin onto the Oreo crumb base.

Bake in the oven for about an hour until the cheesecake is set. Mine went quite brown on top and almost developed a skin, which wasn't what I wanted....

.... so I carefully sliced it off! You can see the Oreo chunks in the cheesecake in the picture below.

I used an aerosol can of cream to cover the top to give it that Cheesecake Factory appearance.

And finally I decorated the top with mini Oreos arranged in a heart shape.

The cheesecake looked really good when it was sliced, with a swirl of cream and mini Oreo on top and the pieces of the Oreos inside. It tasted really good but had more of a baked texture than the one I ate in the Cheesecake Factory, so I still need to figure out how to recreate that!

I do recommend this dessert though if you are a fan of Oreos!

I'm entering this in Alphabakes, the monthly challenge I co-host with Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker. The letter we have chosen this month is O.

I'm also sending this to We Should Cocoa. As well as the ingredient of chocolate, the theme this month is cookies. I imagine most people will bake cookies, but as I have used chocolate Oreo cookies in this recipe I hope they will accept it for the challenge! It's hosted this month by Rebecca at BakeNQuilt on behalf of Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog.

Macaroni Cheeseburger, Cheesecake Factory-style

When I went to America last year, I was very excited to visit the Cheesecake Factory in Las Vegas, as I'm a huge fan of Big Bang Theory (the main female character is a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory) and of course I love cheesecake. But I discovered their main courses were just as good as the desserts; I had a macaroni cheeseburger, which was a burger with a deep-fried ball of macaroni cheese on top (inside the bun); when you bit or cut into it, the cheese oozed out. You can read more about it here.

Ever since I came back I've wanted to recreate the macaroni cheeseburger, but I never cook burgers at home (since I occasionally eat them when out). I decided that it wouldn't be so bad if the burger was homemade.

First I made some macaroni cheese, though I didn't have any macaroni pasta so used fusili, and made a basic cheese sauce. I left this overnight (actually, I had it for my lunch at work, and kept a small portion for this recipe).

To make the burger, I took some minced beef, and mixed it with finely chopped onion, oregano and salt.

I shaped it into patties, though they aren't perfectly round as you can see!

Next I took the macaroni cheese, which had clumped together now it was a day old

I did my best to shape the pasta into a ball and cover it with breadcrumbs then I fried it in a couple of centimeters of oil.

I fried the burgers in a separate pan

When the burger was cooked, I topped it with the deep-fried macaroni cheese

It made for a pretty big burger!

I loved the taste and texture together, but when I bit into the macaroni cheese, the cheese sauce didn't ooze out in the same way when I ate this at the Cheesecake Factory. I don't really know how you keep enough of a liquid sauce in the cheese for it to be the right consistency while at the same time make it thick enough that you can make a ball of the macaroni and deep fry it. Has anyone tried to make this at home?