Chocolate cheesecake (gluten-free)

This is a very popular cheesecake in our house, simply because it's so creamy and everyone gets their choice of topping, so no fighting! It's also fairly easy and fun to make.

Another way to present this is to make one regular cheesecake and one chocolate one, and create a cheesecake bar, with choices of toppings for everyone to top as they please.

Let's get started, here's what you'll need :

Ingredients

Crust

20 (gluten-free) graham crackers or butter cookies (about 150 g)

50 g butter

Dash of teaspoon sea salt

Filling

200 g cream cheese, softened

1 heaping tablespoon sour cream

80 g sugar

2 eggs, beaten

200 g semi-sweet chocolate, melted in 2 tablespoons of butter

3 sheets gelatin, softened in cold water, or agar agar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings, for ex :

- 8-10 strawberries, halved (or other sliced fruit : kiwi, blueberries, cherries, mango...), simmered 2 minutes with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice

- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped + diced praline or 2 tablespoons brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons salted caramel

- 8-10 toasted marshmallows, you'll need a kitchen torch to toast... watch out for the plastic which I did slightly sear...

- You can also try chopped Oreos, Reeses or sprinkles... (I didn't have any so there you go, lol).

Crush cookies into crumbs with a rolling pin or in a mixer. Mix with melted butter and salt. Depending on the size of the cookies, you should get a compact (and not wet, if it's too wet add more cookies), crumbly paste that you can pack into a pan. You can use a rectangular or round pan. Spread to the edges and press down to get an even surface. You can either bake for 8-10 minutes in 170° C / 350° F, or refrigerate 2 hours.

For the filling, melt chocolate with butter over a medium heat. Once chocolate is melted, add softened gelatin, squeezing water off first, and dissolve, mixing in well. Allow to cool to room temperature. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar. Then add eggs and cream well with a whisk. Fold in melted chocolate and vanilla. Layer evenly onto crust. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Prepare toppings by cutting fruit or chopping nuts, cookies, etc. To decorate, create separations (I used clear wrapping paper). I planned out the colors and number of parts, for example I wanted 10 parts with 3 parts strawberry toppings because I knew those would be popular and it makes the cake visually pleasing. Ha, you thought everything I do is a coincidence ? Most of the time... Watch my video for (a quick) demo...

Enjoy, everyone !

Comments

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