Black Forest Cheesecake

First of all, please play the following track http://youtu.be/NucJk8TxyRg

Okay, now that the mood has been set, lets get to it.

I baked this silky-smooth Black Forest Cheesecake last week. My family loves Black Forest chocolate from Cadbury and I’ve always wanted to put it in cake form, so thanks to the year end holidays, I finally had that opportunity! I’ll save some time and go straight to the recipe share for this week:

Black Forest Cheesecake
7″ Springform Tin
Preheat oven 180°C

For the crust:

• 200g Oreo biscuits, filling removed and biscuits crushed
• 100g butter, melted

1. Grease & line a 7″ springform tin with parchment paper
2. Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a medium bowl and then pour into the prepared baking tin and press up the sides and the bottom
3. Cover with a clean cloth and refrigerate the crust for at least 10 minute

For the cheesecake filling:

• 170g dark chocolate chips, melted & cooled
• 450g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cold
• 3/4 cup caster sugar 
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 heaped tbsp all purpose flour

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, take the bowl out and stir with a spoon until smooth
2. Pop the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl, beat until it blends into a smooth mixture then gradually add the milk and continue to beat 
3. Beat the eggs in one at a time, and make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to ensure it’s all mixed properly
4. Slowly pour in the cooled melted chocolate, continuously beating the mixture 
5. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour in one addition and beat until thoroughly combined
6. Take the tin with the crust out of the fridge, wrap it with tinfoil and place the tin in a larger roasting tray or baking tin 
7. Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform tin and smooth it out (or draw heart shapes with your spatula) 
8. Now here’s the move that will literally make or break your cheesecake (no, seriously, don’t skip this if you don’t want cracks in your cheesecake): Pour hot water into the larger roasting tray/baking tin until it comes up to about 3/4 of the springform tin with the cheesecake inside (this is a water bath, and people make a huge deal about it like it takes so much effort but it really takes 2 minutes and truly makes a huge difference in ensuring the success of your cheesecake)
9. Carefully transfer the entire thing to the oven and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then leave the cake inside the oven until the oven has cooled. Remove the cake when that’s done, and cover it with a clean cloth and leave it in the fridge overnight to set 

For the topping:

• 150ml thickened cream
• 2 tbsp sifted confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Cherry pie filling
• Fresh cherries for decorating

1. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until slightly firmer. Don’t overbeat or you’ll end up with sweet butter
2. Pipe out some pretty swirls around the edges of the top of the cheesecake, then cover the top with the remaining cream
3. Spoon out some canned cherry pie filling (I used Duncan Hines for this) on top (within the swirly edges) 
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve