Chocolatey Caramelly Cheesecake

Did I mention I’m not a dessert person? I know this may place me in a minority but in my defence I do enjoying making them for others. And sometimes I even find a recipe that tempts me to have a sliver……

I knew once I saw the Peanut Caramel Cheesecake in Good Housekeeping’s ‘Chocolate Collection’ that it was going to be one of those recipes destined to become a firm favourite. I tried it out for a family occasion but never got to taste as much as a crumb – which is always a good sign.  Then I did it for as part of dessert buffet and had several requests for the recipe.

So when some of my college friends came for a barbeque last weekend (and yes we did get to eat outdoors –  without fleeces and raingear!) there was no question about what I was doing for dessert! And it was a HIT!

I have made one or two changes to the original recipe including leaving out the peanuts in my last version cos I’m always worried in case someone has a peanut allergy. I hope you like it…..

What you need: 

• 150g dark chocolate digestives
• 50g butter, melted
• 500g Philadelphia ( the full fat version please)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla paste would be even better ..)
• 3 egg whites
• 175g caster sugar
• 50g dark chocolate ( I use 70% ) , chopped
• 60g dried pineapple pieces *
• 2-3 tbsp of Ballyshiel dulce de leche

* in the original recipe this is 75g salted peanuts

What you do:

• Line a 22cm springform tin with butter and baking parchment.
• Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag using a rolling pin. Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter together and press into the base of the tin.
• Whisk the cream cheese with the vanilla until smooth and creamy.
• Then (in a spotlessly clean bowl) whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually add in the sugar to form a glossy meringue like mixture.
• Carefully fold the meringue mix into the cream cheese using a metal spoon.
• Then fold in the chocolate and pineapple into the mix.
• Finally swirl in the dulce de luche and pour the mix onto the biscuit base.
• Leave cheesecake to set in fridge overnight – or if you’re in a hurry pop it into the freezer for a few hours.
• Remove the cheesecake from the tin and topwith more dulce de leche and grated chocolate…….
• Serve and watch it disappear!

I dare you not to come back for a second slice!

Happy Cooking !