Over catered by Cate

Last weekend I had a few of my nearest and dearest over for dinner and as usual, over catered. In recent years I have tried to become a more economical cook but sometimes I am my own worst enemy. This time around, I managed to leave my detailed shopping list (measurements and all!) on the kitchen bench while me, myself and I trotted off to the supermarket. I’d love to say this sort of thing doesn’t happen to me allll the time but my mother taught me not to tell lies, something about wooden boys and noses growing…

Thankfully I managed to remember all the key ingredients so essentially my culinary crisis was averted but it did leave me with practically double the ingredients I needed for dessert. If there is one thing I hate more than forgetting my shopping list, it’s having to go back to the shop when you realise you don’t have enough of something!

So a week has now passed since our dinner party and I still have way too much cream, dark chocolate and mascarpone. Throw in some cream cheese from a previous (over catered) event and the scraps of some mocha hazelnut brownies I uncovered in the freezer and you pretty much have everything you need for a no-bake dessert.

As I’ve previously indicated, I am a cheese cake kinda girl so this really works for me. I’ll admit though, it is decadent even by my standards. Despite the decent hit of both dark and white chocolate, it isn’t too sweet. The tanginess of the cream cheese cuts through the sweetness of the white chocolate and the slightly bitter dark chocolate balances everything out.

What I like most about it though is the flavour the base provides. Surprisingly it is the hint of coffee and hazelnut that makes the dish really interesting. Thank god I found a use for the edges of my brownies (which I usually find are a tad too crunchy for my liking), I hate to waste stuff!

Triple chocolate cheesecake slice (makes about 20 square pieces or alternatively you could make it in a round tin as a proper cheesecake)

  • 250 gm crunchy mocha hazelnut brownie ends (or plain chocolate biscuits with 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts and 2 tsp coffee essence)
  • 125 gm butter, melted
  • 250 gm cream cheese, softened
  • 200 gm mascarpone
  • 100 ml thickened cream
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2 tsp powdered gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup of warm water
  • 180 gm quality white chocolate, melted
  • 200 gm quality dark chocolate, melted
  1. Line an 18x25cm lamington tray with cling wrap (hint – if you lightly spray the tray with oil before you line it, the cling wrap will stick more easily).
  2. Blitz the brownies (or biscuits and hazelnuts) in a blender until fine. Combine with the melted butter (and if you’re using biscuits, the coffee essence) and mix well. Press evenly into the tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Combine the cream cheese, cream, mascarpone and caster sugar together and mix until smooth. Add the gelatine solution and stir through until well combined.
  4. Divide the cream cheese mixture into two bowls. Add the melted dark chocolate to one bowl and the white chocolate to the other and mix until well combined.
  5. Take the base out of the fridge and using a palate knife, add either the dark or white chocolate mixture and spread evenly over the base (I added the dark chocolate first but you could add the white if you prefer). Take the other chocolate mixture and layer evenly on top of the first.
  6. Using a skewer, lightly mix through the two layers until you have a slightly marbled effect.
  7. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight until set.
Category : Dessert, Uncategorized
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