Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

I love pulling out my recipe books and browsing through old family recipes.  I was reminded recently by a friend of this Chocolate Orange cheesecake recipe that I had made time and again.  So I dragged out my old recipe book of handwritten favorite recipes and eventually found the page stained from splashes of cream and chocolate.  It is a delicious NO BAKE Cheesecake that tastes like heaven.  One of my favorite combinations is chocolate and orange, and this recipe does the combination justice.

 Even if you are nervous to use gelatine, this recipe seems to work every time.  I have made it so many times and never had  a flop.  The key to the right consistency of this cheesecake is using thickened cream.  Don’t compromise with pouring cream whipped up, it just wont be the same.

It can be made with or without liquor, but the Cointreau in this cheesecake really does make it exceptional, without making it taste boozy.  It just has a very strong orange flavour, which gives it the edge.  I like to decorate with slithers of orange rind and chocolate.  It can also be made in a pie dish, but then you would spread the base crumb mixture up the sides as well.

I used an amazing Pierre Herme hazelnut spread for this cheesecake, which was bought on a recent trip to Paris. You can use Nutella or any chocolate hazelnut spread of your choice.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake   Author: Ev@ shadesofcinnamon.com Recipe type: dessert, chocolate Serves: 10 Prep time: 30 mins Total time: 30 mins Print   This recipe can be made with or without the liquor Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon gelatine
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup plain sweet biscuit crumbs
• 90g butter, melted
• 250g cream cheese
• ⅓ cup icing sugar
• 2 x 300ml cartons thickened cream (600mls)
• 150g dark chocolate, melted
• 2 Tablespoons hazelnut spread (Nutella)
• 1 Tablespoon Cointreau (optional)
• Juice of one orange
• 250g pouring cream whipped for decoration
• 2 teaspoons grated orange rind

Instructions

1. Crumb the biscuits/cookies in a blender until fine crumbs form.
2. Combine crumbs with melted butter in a bowl and mix.
3. Spray a round 8 inch baking tray with spray and cook so that the cheesecake doesnt stick to the bottom and sides of the tin.
4. Press the crumbs firmly over the base of the tin and refrigerate while preparing the cheesecake.
5. Sprinkle gelatine over water, dissolve over hot water or microwave on High for 20 seconds.
6. Cool to room temperature, but do not allow to set.
7. Beat the cream cheese in an electric beater until smooth, and add the sifted icing sugar.
8. Add the cream and beat until just combined.
9. Beat in the gelatine mixture.
10. Divide into 2 bowls and add the melted chocolate and hazelnut spread to one bowl. Add the orange rind, juice (and liquor if using ) to the second bowl.
11. The mixtures should be thick , but if they are slightly runny, refrigerate for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
12. Spread the orange mixture over the biscuit base, and then spread the chocolate over that. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.
13. Using a sharp knife , ease the cheesecake from the sides of the springform tin and ease it open.
14. Decorate with grated chocolate and orange rind and whipped cream.

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