chilled chocolate cheesecake

my brother in law's girlfriend received a recipe book of 365 chocolate recipes for christmas so we were fortunate to be visiting the other week and she tested this one out on us. it was extremely delicious and went down well with the whole family and aoife assured me it was a doddle to whip up. there is uncooked eggs in it though so best not served to very young, old or pregnant chocoholics.

cheesecake bit

50g softened butter + extra for greasing

400g softened cream cheese

2 eggs lightly beaten

5 tbsp caster sugar

150g dark chocolate melted and slightly cooled

chocolate shavings to scatter (place skelligs milk dark and white bars in the fridge and use a vegetable peeler along the side to make easy and attractive chocolate curls)

chocolate crumb bit

250g digestive biscuits (crushed)

75g butter

2 tbsp cocoa powder

to make the crumb
preheat the oven to 200c. mix the crushed biscuits, cocoa powder and butter until well combined. press the mixture into the base of a 9" springform cake tin. bake in the oven for 10 minutes. leave to cool completely.

1. in a large bowl beat the cream cheese, eggs, butter, sugar and melted chocolate together until the mixture is smooth and thick. spoon over the cooled chocolate crumb base and smooth the surface.

2. refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.

3. remove the cheesecake from the tin and scatter with the chocolate shavings just before serving.

new year's resolution chocolate cake

if like sarah and myself you have resolved to start the new year on a healthier note in order to reign in the ever increasing waistline we have discovered a super recipe for a chocolate cake that is incredibly rich and chocolatey while being considerably less fattening than traditional chocolate cakes.

adapted from a recipe by the old goddess herself this recipe for buche de noel from nigella's 'feast' contains no fat or flour which has got to be a good thing.

nigella does it in a swiss roll tin and rolls it into a log; we made a traditional cake using 2 round 7" loose bottom tins. her icing is rich and buttery. we have fill it with a plain chocolate ganache which, made with low fat cream or soya cream and dark chocolate, adds decadence without being terribly wicked.

resolution chocolate cake

6 eggs seperated

150g caster sugar

2 tsp real vanilla extract

50g cocoa


preheat the oven to 180c.

line the tins with baking parchment or grease and flour them well.

in a large, clean bowl whisk the eggs whites until foamy and thick, add 50g of the sugar and whisk again until the egg whites hold a peak.

in a second large bowl whisk the yolks and remaining sugar until pale and thick. add the vanilla extract and sieve in the cocoa powder and gently fold into the mixture.

add a couple of good dollops of egg white into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. add the whites in a third at a time and fold in gently so as not to knock out the air.

pour the cake into the prepared tins and bake for 20 minutes. turn out to cool.

ganache icing

100g good dark chocolate (50 -70%)

300ml soya cream or low fat cream

gently heat the cream in a saucepan. chop the chocolate into small pieces and add to the cream stir until chocolate is melted.

when cool spread onto one layer of the cake. place the other layer of the cake on top and dust generously with icing sugar.

if you can resist it long enough it is even better the next day....

happy new year chocoholics!

everyone here at chocoholic frolics hoped that you have had a lovely festive season and spent most of the past few weeks in a truly indulgent chocolate induced coma!

the factory is mainly closed for january so we have a bit more time to invent, try out and adapt some fine chocolate recipes to inspire you in the new year.

best wishes for 2009.