A baked chocolate cheesecake with a twist. This delightful recipe features a rich and creamy chocolate filling, sitting atop a delectable almond crust. It makes a change from the ubiquitous biscuit base and creates a perfect gluten-free dessert. Just savour the harmonious marriage of chocolate and marzipan in every heavenly bite.
Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over a gentle heat.
40 g unsalted butter
Take off the heat, then add the ground almonds, sugar, salt and almond extract. Mix everything together.
100 g ground almonds, 2 tbsp light brown sugar, 1 pinch Himalayan pink rock salt, 2 drop almond extract
Press the mixture down into a buttered 20 cm (8") round loose-based nonstick cake tin.
Place in the fridge to set for at least half an hour.
Cheesecake
Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot, but not boiling, water and leave to cool a little.
150 g dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 150℃ (130℃ fan, 300℉, Gas 2).
In a large bowl, mix the mascarpone, cream cheese, eggs and sugar with electric beaters until just combined. Keep the beaters on a low speed so you don't whip too much air into the cheesecake.
250 g mascarpone cheese, 250 g full fat cream cheese, 2 large eggs, 6 tbsp light brown sugar
Gently stir in the melted chocolate.
Spoon the mixture over the chilled marzipan crust and level the top.
Bake on a low shelf for 40 to 45 minutes or until just set. You want a slight wobble in the middle.
Place the tin on a wire rack to cool. Once cool, chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Finally release the cheesecake from the tin and serve.
Notes
For top tips on how to prevent your baked cheesecake from cracking, take a look at my recipe for baked lemon curd cheesecakes.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.