Chocolate ripple cheesecake is rich and creamy: everything a cheesecake should be. It’s essentially a vanilla flavoured cheesecake, but the ripple of chocolate through the middle, gives it a whole new dimension. Choose whatever chocolate you love the most. More often than not we use Toblerone. But be warned. It’s very tempting to overindulge, but do so at your peril. It’s far more satisfying to have small slices, knowing it will last for days.
We have a tradition in our family. On your birthday you get to choose whatever you want for dinner and your favourite cake. I have always had confidence that good choices would be made, and mostly I’m right. But there are memorable occasions when the requests have left me bewildered. I admit there has been the occasional: “You want that? Really?” reaction to the request. In my opinion, I make a fine beef lasagne, so why would they want a shop bought one that is edible but salty, leaving you wanting multiple glasses of water to cope with the salt-overload induced thirst. But nonetheless, off to the shop I went and bought the requested item. The birthday girl was in heaven whilst the rest of us were left perplexed. Though have to admit it was the easiest birthday ever.
Then there was the chocolate self-saucing pudding. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a fine dessert, but it’s not a birthday cake. It just wasn’t right adding candles to a pudding. But we did and she was happy.
The birthday dinner request is a topic of conversation for days leading up to the event, and despite these minor aberrations, there are a few firm favourites. Leading the cake choice is chocolate ripple cheesecake. On average it is made 4 times a year, but only for birthdays. This is not a ‘just because’ cake. Making a chocolate ripple cheesecake is a clear indicator that it’s someone’s birthday: a special day to be celebrated. And even with some family members no longer living at home, there’s the urging to make a cheesecake anyway. After all, a birthday is a birthday no matter where they are, and in honour of that event you need a cheesecake. Enjoy!
Blitz the biscuits into crumbs.
Add the butter.
Biscuits crumbs stick together.
Line the springform tin with baking paper.
Put biscuit crumbs in tin.
Flatten with a spoon or your hand.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Put half the mixture in the tin.
Add the melted chocolate.
Top with the rest of the cream cheese mixture.
Smooth the top.
Use a knife and make a figure of 8 pattern to mixture through the chocolate.
Smooth the surface so it is flat.
Top with cream and strawberries.
- 80 grams butter, melted
- 225 grams digestive biscuits, broken into pieces
- 75 grams chocolate, broken into small pieces
- 750 grams cream cheese (we use Philadelphia cream cheese)
- 180 grams caster sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- whipped cream
- strawberries
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius. Grease and line a 20 cm springform tin.
- Place the broken digestive biscuits in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until they are coarse crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and blitz again. You should end up with fine/medium crumbs.
- Press the crumbs on to the base of the tin. Press down firmly with the back of a spoon or your hand. Chill in the fridge until you need it.
- Melt the chocolate in a basin standing above a pan of gently simmering water. Once melted remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until soft and thoroughly combined. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour half the filling into the biscuit lined tin, then spoon over the melted chocolate. Spoon over the remaining mixture and, using a palette knife, stir the mixture several times in a figure-of-eight motion to marble the chocolate into the mixture.
- Cook for 60 minutes until set around the edges, then remove and cool.
- Chill for several hours, or overnight.
- To serve, spread whipped cream over the cheesecake and top with strawberries.
2 Comments
Oh my! I think this is the most delicious cake I’ve ever seen…I’m going to have to try it asap!!
It’s a great cake for special occasions – like birthdays! Hope you enjoy it.