A delicious no-bake cheesecake with a surprise chocolate layer hidden below the surface. You’re guaranteed to get plenty of oohs and ahhh with this chocolate and lime cheesecake surprise. The combination of salty biscuity crumb, sweet chocolate and tangy cream filling is a particularly good one.
Party going family members en route from Gloucestershire to Falmouth, thoughtfully stopped by for lunch at the weekend. It was time to revive an old favourite. I used to make this chocolate and lime cheesecake surprise for Christmas and when entertaining, but for some reason, it fell off my radar.
Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake Surprise
Scouring my memory for the recipe proved more difficult than I’d expected. Quantities were the problem rather than ingredients. Luckily, one of the beauties of this recipe is that you can play around with both quantities and ingredients to suit evolving tastes.
The original recipe came from one of my aunts, way back in the mists of time. It contained no lime, but used hazelnut yoghurt instead of plain. I changed this and for a long time, I used plain yoghurt and chopped roasted hazelnuts. But it has been undergoing a slow metamorphosis over the years.
Sometimes I use plain chocolate, sometimes milk. I’ve also incorporated the chocolate directly into the cheesecake mixture rather than having it as a separate layer. This latest incarnation replaces the original hazelnuts with lime. It’s the best one yet.
This was as good as I remembered and was a real hit with my visitors. The chocolate layer always comes as a pleasant surprise and it elicited the usual oohs and ahhs that I’ve come to expect with this fabulous creation. The combination of salty biscuity crumb, sweet chocolate and tangy cream filling is a particularly good one.
The flavour of lime permeates the whole cheesecake, despite the small quantities involved. Why, I wonder has it been so long since I last made it?
Surprise Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake: Top Tips
When you’re creating the biscuit layer, try and press the crumbs down as hard as you can so that you have as even and firm a layer as possible. I tend to get a bit fidgety at this point. You can probably tell by the photos that my patience didn’t run the course on this particular occasion. But it’s worth persisting if you can, so that you get a clean slice when you cut into the cheesecake.
I usually make this surprise chocolate and lime cheesecake with milk chocolate. But it’s absolutely fine to use dark chocolate. I sometimes do. It’s all very much dependent on mood. As it’s fairtrade fortnight, I used Divine for a change, instead of my usual Green & Black’s.
You can add a little more sugar to the cheesecake layer if you don’t think it’s sweet enough. I find the milk chocolate is already quite sweet and the not-so-sweet cheesecake mixture acts as a nice foil. However, if you use plain chocolate, it’s a good idea to double the quantity.
Other Biscuit Base Desserts You Might Like
- Baileys chocolate banana pie
- Banoffee pie
- Chocolate cashew pie
- Chocolate key lime pie
- Coconut cream pie
- Easy strawberries and cream dessert
- Matcha green tea cheesecake pots
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this surprise chocolate and lime cheesecake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more lime recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Surprise Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake. PIN IT.
Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake Surprise – The Recipe
Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake Surprise
Ingredients
Base
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 230 g digestive biscuits
- 200 g milk chocolate
Cheesecake Layer
- 85 g full fat cream cheese
- 15 g golden caster sugar
- 250 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 250 ml natural yoghurt
- 1 lime
Instructions
Base
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a gently heat.
- Meanwhile, place the biscuits in a large bowl and bash them with the end of a rolling pin until you’ve turned them into crumbs. Alternatively use a food processor.
- Pour in the butter and mix.
- Scrape into a round 20cm (8″) flan dish or tart tin and use your fingers to mould the crumbs to fit the bottom and sides (as you would with pastry).
- Break 180g of the chocolate into small pieces, keeping the remainder back for decoration. Place in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling water and leave the chocolate to melt.
- Stir until smooth, then pour over the biscuit base. Spread it out as much as possible withe the back of a spoon. Leave to set.
Cheesecake Layer
- Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese with the sugar.
- Whip the cream until soft peaks formed. You can do this by hand or with an electric whisk.
- Fold in the yoghurt, then fold the mixture into the cheese until it’s well mixed.
- Grate ¾ of the lime zest into the cheese mixture. Stir, then spoon it onto the set chocolate layer and smooth out.
- Grate the reserved chocolate over the top and scatter the remaining lime zest over the surface.
Deborah says
Love love love this. I’m going to make today. Looks so good. Can’t wait!
Choclette says
It’s delicious Deborah and one of my go to desserts.
Margot says
Delicious, my husband is a big fan of anything with lime so I may give it a go, especially that he bought two bags of limes yesterday for some reason 😉
Choclette says
Oh do give it a go Margot, it’s such a fun cheesecake, especially if you don’t let on about the chocolate.
Elizabeth says
This sounds absolutely fantastic!
Choclette says
Thanks Nicisme – currently have a bit of a lime and chocolate obsession. the flavours go really well together.
Nicisme says
Saw this at FFFY, it’s wonderful Choclette! Love the way you combined lime with the chocolate.
Choclette says
Margaret – yes I use the yogurt / cream mix a lot – it works really well.
Foodycat – yes solid chocolate with the cheesecake on top – it’s a winner as long as you’ve got a chocolate you really like.
Jacqueline – thanks for the feedback. It’s great to hear someone’s actually made something inspired from my blog. The toffee flavour sounds like a good one to try.
Jacqueline says
Hi Choclette,
The cheesecake was fab, although it changed as it went along. I decided to make a toffee cheesecake, using toffee yoghurt. Unfortunately it didn’t impart much flavour, I think you would have to use some caramel too, which I didn’t have, so I added cocoa powder and it was gorgeous!
Foodycat says
That sounds really good! I bet the yoghurt adds a lovely flavour and texture. So it’s firm chocolate with a cheesecakey layer on top? I must try this!
Margaret says
I too always mix natural yogurt in with double cream to cut down on a few calories and to counteract the richness of the cream. A delicious cheesecake.
Choclette says
Yes inspired by you I made a chocolate, lime and buttermilk cake at the weekend. Will be posting about it later.
The Caked Crusader says
chocolate and lime – what an ace combination! Love the look of this dish
Choclette says
Mommy Gourmet – thank you that’s a nice idea. Some of the best meal’s I’ve been too have been when everyone brings a dish.
Kitchen Butterfly – it works well in summer when having the oven on for baking seems less appealing.
Kitchen Butterfly says
A no-bake scrumptious chocolate containing dessert with citrus – yum
Mommy Gourmet says
Thanks so much for the comment. Next time invite them to come over but have everyone bring something.. easy, plus you get to see them 🙂
Choclette says
Lucie – this is certainly one I have made many times over the years.
Janice – you’re probably right about the 70s.
Mommy – you haven’t seen my house!
Pam – Chocolate and lime is a wonderful combination – do try it.
MaryMoh – thank you
Emma – hope to see you back again.
Forkful – you’re right it’s more suited to the summer months really.
Jacqueline – hope your husband delivered the goods. Look forward to finding out how you got on with it.
Aruna – thank you
Celia – it’s the only cheesecake I’ve ever made.
Chele says
Sounds like this one has quite a history to it. Looks really nice.
Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial says
What an interesting dessert, Choclette! I’ve never seen a cheesecake with yoghurt before..
ARUNA says
wow it is a tempting dessert!
Jacqueline says
I have sent off the email, now I just have to await the ingredients 🙂
Jacqueline says
That is just brilliant Choclette! I love the layer of chocolate and that you added in a flavoured yoghurt. I am going to make this one very soon. Today if I can persuade my hubby to buy the ingredients on his way home from work 🙂
aforkfulofspaghetti says
I’m rather loving that sneaky chocolate layer, I must admit! I think I’ll make a note of this for the warmer months…
Emma @CakeMistress says
Ooh, choc-lime sounds like a delicious combo. I’m so excited by all the chocolate recipes here too 😀
MaryMoh says
I love cheesecake. Yours looks very delicious.
Pam says
I’ve never thought to combine chocolate with lime…your pie looks delicious.
Mommy Gourmet says
I feel a bit sad I don’t live at your house 🙂
Janice says
Gosh sounds like a dessert from the 70s but none the worse for that. I can imagine how great it would be to find that chocolate layer mmmmm.
Lucie says
Excellent Choclette, this sounds lovely – a great dessert for entertaining. Good luck with your entry 🙂