Biscoff Peanut Butter Oreo Cheesecake

Calling all Biscoff and peanut butter lovers! This recipe is perfect for you!

Serves 12

Ingredients 

200 grams digestive biscuits crushed (you can use Lotus Biscoff or Oreos if you prefer)

80 grams unsalted butter (melted)

360 grams philadelphia cream cheese (full fat)

300 ml double cream or whipping cream (lightly whipped)

1 jar (380-400g) of Biscoff biscuit spread, original or crunchy

2  1/2 tablespoons of cold water

2  1/2 teaspoons of gelatin

1-2 packets of peanut butter Oreos

Extra cream for decorating (optional) 

Lightly grease a 8 inch springfoam tin or a mousse ring with unsalted butter. Put the crushed  biscuits in a bowl. Add in the melted butter and mix till well combined. Lightly press the mixture over the greased tin evenly. Refrigerate while you make the cheesecake mixture.

You can use 1 or 2 packets of Oreos, up to you. Cut 12 Oreos into halves and place them in a airtight container for decoration later. Cut the rest of the Oreos into small pieces.

Put 2 1/2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl, add in the gelatin and place the bowl into a saucepan of simmering water (water bath) but make sure the water in the saucepan doesn't bubble into your bowl of gelatin. When the gelatin have dissolved, turn off heat and set aside.

In a large bowl whip the philadelphia cheese until smooth.

Add in the dissolved gelatin and mix well.

Add the Biscoff spread and mix till well combined.

In another small bowl whip the cream till soft peaks (make sure not to over whip the cream) Gently fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture till combined.

Depending how you want the cheesecake to look inside, you can just fold in the pieces of Oreos into the mixture and just pour the mixture onto the biscuit base. Or if you a want a neat layer of Oreos in the middle like in the picture, divide the mixture into two equal bowls. Pour one bowl of cheesecake mixture onto the biscuit base, spread and smooth it out with a angled blade pallet knife. 

Place the Oreos on top leaving about a centimetre away from the edge and carefully pour the other bowl of cheesecake mixture on top. Spread and smooth out the mixture evenly with a palette knife trying not to move the Oreos below.

Chill for 4-5 hours, ideally overnight.

Remove from tin. Cut into 12 pieces. Decorating with cream, Oreos and biscuit crumbs.

Enjoy! :) xx

If your not a fan of Oreos you can leave them out, taste just as good :)

Nutella Cheesecake

I was so happy when I put this simple, yummy cheesecake recipe together, couldn't wait to share this with you all! Hope you will like this recipe as much as I do!

I came up with this recipe, all to do with the unopened jar of Nutella which has been in my cupboard for the past 6 months. I knew if it continues to stay there, I will just end up opening the jar and start eating it with a spoon! Haha yes i'm that bad! So I thought maybe I can make a cheesecake with it and i'm so glad that I did! It's my new favourite cheesecake recipe now. Quick and easy to make and simply delicious!

Serves 12

Ingredients 

2 packets Oreos (154g packets)

80 grams unsalted butter (melted)

400 grams philadelphia cream cheese (full fat)

300 ml double cream or whipping cream (lightly whipped)

300 grams Nutella 

2 tablespoons of cold water

2 teaspoons of gelatin

12 Ferrero Rocher (optional) Or use some fresh fruit to decorate

• Lightly grease a 8 inch springfoam tin or a mousse ring with unsalted butter. Remove the fillings of the Oreos. Discard the filling. Finely crush the Oreo biscuit and put them in a bowl. Add in the melted butter and mix till well combined. Lightly press the mixture over the greased tin evenly. Refrigerate while you make the cheesecake mixture.
• Put the 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl, add in the gelatin and place the bowl into a saucepan of simmering water (water bath) but make sure the water in the saucepan doesn't bubble into your bowl of gelatin. When the gelatin have dissolved, turn off heat and set aside until needed.
• In a large bowl whip the philadelphia cheese until smooth. Add the Nutella and whip till its well combined.
• Add in the dissolved gelatin and mix well (gelatin should be like liquid, if it has turned into jelly heat it back in the saucepan.
• In another small bowl whip the cream till soft peaks (make sure not to over whip the cream) Gently fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture till combined and pour into the prepared biscuit base. Spread and smooth out the mixture evenly with a palette knife.
• Chill for 4-5 hours, ideally overnight.

Un-mould the cheesecake and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place a Ferrero Rocher on top of each slice or decorate with some fresh fruits.

                         

Light, smooth and creamy!

Enjoy! 

Remember to leave a comment below if you've tried the recipe, I would love to know what you think of my recipe. You can also tweet me a picture on Twitter of your cheesecake or show me on Instagram xx

Recipes by John Whaite

I'm sure many of you are just as excited as I am! Yes The Great British Bake Off  is back on our screens on 20th August!

Since the show last year, I have been a little addicted to John Whaite's recipes, my favourite and well deserved bake off winner! John won over the audience with his down to earth personality, his passion and his amazing talent for baking. I think it was the second episode when John won star baker on bread week that I thought what a great baker John truly is! I started following him on twitter and when he tweeted a recipe for his wholemeal loaf, I really wanted to try out the recipe. I've only tried bread making once and it turned out in such a disaster that I never attempted it again but after bread week on the bake off, I was inspired by John and the show to give it another go. So when I attempted the recipe and seeing my dough double in size I was clapping with joy! I was thinking, I must be doing it right this time! (The first time I tried making Chinese bread rolls, they actually turned out like rocks!)

Yes! My first successful homemade bread! The loaf turned out beautiful, lovely and light. Bread making didn't seem that scary after all following this easy and simple recipe. Recipe can be found HERE 

Second recipe I tried from Johns blog, Lemon Drizzle Loaf. A very moist, zesty and fluffy loaf. Recipe HERE 

From here on I always trust Johns recipes as I know they will turn out great, they do just get better and better each time!

These Blueberry and White Chocolate Bagels are the ones John made on the bake off. I've not made bagels before but the contestants on the bake off looked like they were having so much fun and after making my first successful loaf I was a little bit more confident playing with dough this time. I loved the recipe, these turned out great! Sweet, chewy and yummy! Recipe HERE 

 

Johns Gateau Saint-Honore a la passion is one of the most advanced recipes that i've tried. So much works goes into this famous French patisserie and its a real test of skill and I certainly didn't have it! Its the first time I made choux and rough puff pastry. The choux pastry was quite straight forward to make but the puff pastry I found very difficult! After wasting two blocks of butter, I still failed miserably and i've never been brave enough to attempt puff pastry till this day. This would have been a lovely dessert if I didn't mess up my puff pastry but the flavours was beautiful, the choux was lovely filled with chantilly cream and the caramel but I wished I did a better job with the presentation. What's special about this recipe is that it has a lovely passionfruit curd filling, absolutely gorgeous. Recipe HERE

Johns Arabian Night Tart is one of my favourites bakes from last years bake off! A rich and buttery pastry case filled with pistachio frangipane, creme patissiere and decorated with exotic fruits.

I was so please how this turned out as I don't make tarts that often. The pastry turned out lovely, not too thick or too thin, crisp with no soggy bottom, soft pistachio frangipane and a lovely smooth creme patissiere. A perfect, stunning recipe! A recipe I highly recommend. Recipe can be found HERE 

Soon after John was crowned the winner of The Great British Bake Off, he started to write his first baking book but he still continued posting recipes on his blog and this time I decided to make my first ever Christmas cake using his recipe. As I didn't want to use alcohol, I asked John what juice he would recommend and he suggested pomegranate juice would be nice. I was really looking forward to making this cake as i've not made a Xmas cake before, while the cake was in the oven my house smelt absolutely beautiful! Recipe HERE 

My first Christmas Cake

Johns chocolate chiffon recipe has got to be my all time favourite cake! I've lost count how many times i've made it now. A very light and chocolatey sponge and it's even better with his salted caramel icing, indulgent experience! Trust me, I can eat a lot of this cake! Recipe HERE

Finally in April 2013, John released his first book JOHN WHAITE BAKES, Recipes for everyday and every mood. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and I knew I wouldn't be disappointed! The book have a wide variety of recipes and for people of all skill levels. There are many delicious savoury recipes in the the book that I would like to try including, a caramelized onion and rosemary fougasse, pizza puttanesca but I do have a very sweet tooth and everytime I pick up the book I can't help but make something sweet again! Here are a few of the recipes i've tried so far from the book.

Here are some apricot and white chocolate flapjacks, a white chocolate and raspberry melting cake, rose madeleines and spiced apple and cranberry muffins. What I love about the book is that it includes many quick, easy and mouth-watering recipes, a lot of ingredients you will already have in your cupboard and also many fancy recipes for dinner parties or those special occasions. 

These salted peanut and chocolate florentines are absolutely addictive! I used sultanas instead of apricot as I didn't have any apricot in the house but they still were very good. Perfect for my sweet tooth, sweet, chewy and chocolatey.

These Rose Lychee Meringue Hearts are so adorable! I was so looking forward to making these as i've never made meringues before and I was so pleased that they turned out lovely! The meringues were light and airy, crisp on the outside and soft in the inside just like a meringue should be and with the lychee topping its just perfect.

Definitely one of my favourite recipes from the book so far! Deliciously sweet, pretty and such a chic dessert. John has definitely created the most indulgent and delicious recipes for everyday and every mood...

A must try recipe, heaven on a plate! 

Hope you like my attempts of Johns recipes, do try them out as they are all beautiful recipes. You can order Johns book HERE John is already writing his second book and i'm really looking forward to when it comes out as he's been studying at Le Cordon Bleu for a pastry diploma to become a patissier and i'm sure there will be some great recipes and hoping some baking techniques too. I'm so happy that he is doing so well after the Great British Bake Off and i'm sure he's going to continue to do great in the future.

Oreo & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Another simple and easy cheesecake to make. I love Cookies & Cream flavour ice-cream especially Haagen-Dazs and this taste just like it but a cheesecake version!

Serves 12
Ingredients
3 x 154g packet Oreo
Mini Oreos for decorating
75 grams unsalted butter (melted)
300 grams cream cheese (room temperature)
300 ml double cream (or whipping cream)
150 grams white chocolate
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon gelatine

• Lightly grease a 8 or 9 inch springform cake tin or a mousse ring with butter. 
• Remove the filling of some of the Oreos until you get 200grams of just biscuits to use for the base. Discard the filling. Finely crush them and put them in a bowl. Add the melted butter and mixed till combined. Press mixture over base of the tin evenly. Refrigerate while you make the cheesecake mixture.
• With the rest of the Oreos cut them up into small pieces.
• Put the tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl and add in the teaspoon of gelatine and place the bowl in a small saucepan of simmering water till the gelatine dissolves.
• Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie or double boiler.
• In a large bowl whisk the cream cheese till smooth. Add in the gelatine and melted chocolate and mix till smooth and combined.
• In a smaller bowl lightly whip the cream till it forms soft peaks (make sure not to oover whip) Then gently fold into the cream cheese mixture and mix till combined.
• Stir in the pieces of Oreos then pour the mixture over the prepared biscuit base.
• Spread the mixture evenly over the biscuit base with a palette knife until its smooth and even. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally over night. 

 

Remove the cheesecake from the tin and cut into 12 pieces and place a Oreo on top of each slice.

Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and leave for 15-30 minutes before serving .

I would love to know how you all got on with the recipe. Enjoy! xx

Vanilla Chiffon Swiss Rolls

Chiffon cakes are the first kind of cakes i've learnt to make, I just love how soft and moist it can be and it just keeps well for days! Its quick and easy to make once you know how. I love how versatile it can be, you can eat it on its own, roll it out into a swiss roll, use it instead of your basic sponge and my favourite is using it for my mousse cakes. In this recipe i've decided to fill my swiss roll with fresh cream and fruits but you can leave out the fruits if you want, or you can use your own favourite filling. For this recipe you MUST ensure that the bowl your whipping your egg whites in and your metal whisk on your hand held whisk is completely dry and grease-free.

Ingredients

A.

3 egg whites 

40 grams caster sugar 

B.

3 egg yolks

35 grams caster sugar

35 grams vegteable oil (weighing the liquids is more accurate)

40 grams water 

75 grams self raising flour (sieved)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling 

200ml fresh double cream or whipping cream

1 tablespoon of icing sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

fruits (optional) 

Preheat oven to 170 C/ 338 F

1. Line a swiss roll tin with grease proof paper, theres no need to grease the side of the tin. Separate egg yolks from the egg whites. Yolks in a big bowl and whites in a smaller bowl.
2. Start whipping the egg whites with a hand held whisk on low speed and gradually add in the 40g of caster sugar, turn the speed up to medium and whip till stiff peaks (if you've not tried this method before, a way to check if its done is by turning the bowl upside down. The whites is mixed enough, if the whites remain in the bowl.
3. In your bowl of egg yolks, add all of ingredients B. Mix with a balloon whisk till well combined.
4. Pour your egg whites into your mixture.
5. Gently fold the egg whites into the mixture till well combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the tray and spread evenly with a palette knife and bake for 22 minutes.
7. Leave the sponge to cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then run a palette knife along the rim. Place a cooling rack on top of the tray.
8. Carefully turn your sponge out onto the cooling rack and remove the grease proof paper. Leave to cool, about 30-45minutes
9. Line a sheet of grease proof paper on your work top and carefully turn your sponge onto the paper. Trim off the top and bottom edges of your sponge.

To make filling, add the icing sugar and extract to the cream and whisk till soft peak.

     10.  Pour cream over the sponge.

     11.  Spread the cream evenly all over the sponge.

     12.  Line and press the fruits gently on top of the cream if using any.

     13.  Roll up and use the paper to help you pull and mould the roll into a neat 

            shape. Chill the roll for 30 minutes so its easier to slice.

            Take the roll out of the fridge and slice into equal pieces.

Enjoy! xx

Toblerone Cheesecake

Okay my first recipe post and surprisingly its not a cake recipe! I've decided to share my Toblerone cheesecake recipe first, and not a cake recipe because its one of my most popular photos on Twitter and Instagram. My followers seem to love this just by looking at the photo I posted! It's also one of my favourite cheesecakes, simply because its quick and easy to make and seriously who doesn't like Toblerone?

Serves 12 

Ingredients 

200g digestive biscuits, finely crushed 

90g unsalted butter melted 

300g philadelphia cream cheese

300ml double cream (lightly whipped)

200g toblerone, melted (plus one extra bar for decorating)

1. Lightly grease a 8inch springform cake tin or a mousse ring with butter. Put the crushed biscuits in a bowl and add the melted butter. Mix till combined. Press mixture over base of the tin evenly. Refrigerate while you make the cheesecake.
2. Melt the 200g of toblerone chocolate over a bain-marie (water bath) or double boiler
3. In another bowl mix philadelaphia cheese until its smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into the creamcheese.
4. Mix till combined.  
5. Pour in the lightly whipped cream and fold in gently until well combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared biscuit base.
7. Spread the mixture evenly over the biscuit base with a palette knife.
8. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I do pay more attention at this stage. Just by spending a couple of more minutes smoothing out the surface, it will make a lot of difference to the look of  your end result. When you think the top is smooth and even refrigerate for at least 5 hours, ideally over night.
9. De-mould the cheesecake.

Cut into 12 pieces and place a piece of Toblerone onto each cheesecake and serve. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed my first recipe post. Do let me know how you got on. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.     

 

 

New version of a old favourite! June 2015

 Toblerone and Oreo Cheesecake!

 

If you love Toblerone and Oreos then you must try this! Use the same ingredients above and add a packet of cut up pieces of Oreos into the mixture after you've mixed in the cream.

 

 

 

 I used chocolate filling Oreos with this one.

 

 Delicious!

Enjoy! xxx