Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

As my partners 30th birthday was fast approaching, I asked the question I ask every year: ‘what would you like for your birthday cake?’ Now, I’ve had a vast array of answers over the years but it usually ends up being a tres leches cake. This year though, without hesitation, he said he wanted a chocolate cheesecake. This was something I was very on board with. Since cheesecake has so much cream cheese in it, it can actually end up being quite expensive to make. That, coupled with the fact that it is a big thing to make for just the two of us, I rarely make them at home. But a big birthday calls for a special cake.

I wanted this to be decadent and rich but not too heavy. I went with a chocolate speculaas biscuit base with a good pinch of sea salt to combat the sweetness. The chocolate cheesecake filling has a generous helping of good-quality dark chocolate and four shots of espresso. This really enhances those chocolatey notes. Once baked, it’s finished with a layer of silky smooth ganache made with both dark and milk chocolate for both sweetness and depth of flavour. I was so happy with how this turned out, as was my partner! You would think with all of the chocolate that it would be a heavy and dense dessert but it’s surprisingly light.

Ingredients - makes one 8inch cheesecake
Base:
275g speculaas cookies
2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
Pinch of flaky salt
70g unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake:
600g cream cheese
265g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
20g cocoa powder
200g whole eggs
1 egg yolk
250g good-quality dark chocolate, melted
100g sour cream
4 shots of espresso

Ganache:
75g good-quality dark chocolate
60g good-quality milk chocolate
pinch of sea salt
200g double cream
1 tsp runny honey

Method
The day before:
Pre-heat your oven to 170°C and lightly grease an 8inch springform tin. Blitz the speculaas biscuits in a food processor until you have crumbs. Place these into a bowl with the cocoa powder and salt and stir together. Pour in the melted butter and stir together. Press the crumb into the base and halfway up the sides of the greased tin. Use the back of a spoon or a metal cup to make sure its packed firmly into the corners. Bake for 10 minutes and leave to one side while you make the cheesecake filling.

For the cheesecake filling, place the cream cheese, sugar, salt and cocoa powder into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low until the mixture is completely smooth. Gradually add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the egg yolk. Once incorporated, add the melted chocolate. Finally, add in the sour cream and cooled espresso. Scrape down the bowl and mix again to ensure it’s evenly combined. Leave to one side while you prepare the oven.

Boil the kettle and place a baking tray on the bottom of the oven. Carefully pour the boiling water into the baking tray and slide it into the oven. Pour the cheesecake filling into the baked base and smooth. Bake for approximately 50 minutes. The edges should be set while the middle has a good jiggle but not so much that its wobbling. Remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature before refrigerating overnight, uncovered.

The day of serving:
For the ganache, break up the dark and milk chocolate and place into a heatproof jug or mixing bowl. Melt in the microwave in small burst until semi-melted. In the meantime, place the cream, salt and honey over medium heat until just simmering. Pour the hot cream over the melted chocolate and leave to sit for 30 seconds before stirring. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and continue to stir until you have a glossy ganache. If you have a hand blender, you can blend it until it’s completely emulsified and smooth. Try to keep the blade submerged so that you don’t incorporate any air.

Take the cheesecake from the fridge. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to release it from the tin and lift off the springform edge. Pour over the ganache, letting it drip down the sides. Leave to set in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Can be kept for up to 3 days.