It’s time for my big Easter recipe of the year, and I think you’ll agree I’ve gone all-out with this multi-layer Creme Egg Cheesecake extravaganza*.
Full disclosure – this one’s got a lot of steps, and you are going to need about 5 different bowls to make it, but it definitely wows. And it’s not all about the looks, oh no. We’re not that shallow. This cheesecake manages to be super creamy yet incredibly light, not too sweet, and hides even more hidden Creme Egg pieces inside too.
Basically, you’ve found your perfect Easter dessert, so just stop looking now.
*You have no idea how much I had to stop myself writing egg-stravaganza.
Now that you’ve been convinced, let’s get to the how. Although the recipe looks daunting, it’s not difficult. To get the stripey look, you are going to need to make three separate lots of cheesecake batter, and then add food colouring, cocoa powder, and Creme Egg pieces to different bowls. It’s just time (and bowl) consuming. But it’s do-able, even for the most amateur of baker, I promise.
The main worry Katie had was that the cheesecake wasn’t going to set. She was horrified when I insisted there was no gelatine in my recipe. But as long as you whip the double cream to the point where you’ve almost got stiff peaks, I guarantee you will end up with a firm cheesecake.
I was on a tight timescale, what with the very few hours of the day where the light is right in our apartment, so I didn’t even refrigerate it for the four hours I suggest in the recipe below. And it still held up, even after a measly hour. I definitely recommend giving it the full four though, if you’ve got that luxury.
The only difficulties here are in the decoration. It’s surprisingly hard to cut Cadbury Creme Eggs in half, without them breaking apart in your hands. In the recipe below I’ve insisted that you chill the eggs beforehand, as this keeps the eggy insides a bit more solid. Use a serrated knife, and saw rather than push. You may only get one salvageable half from each of your Creme Eggs, which is why the recipe below states 6-8 eggs, when in reality you only need 8 halves.
Anyway, you can just munch the leftovers whilst you’re impatiently waiting for the cheesecake to set!
You are 100% going to want to finish this Creme Egg Cheesecake off with a drizzle of chocolate. It’s incredible how a little bit of chocolate can take it from ‘alright’ looking to the superstar you see before you. Use whichever chocolate you want – maybe even some Cadbury Dairy Milk if you can get it to melt nicely. I knew my audience wouldn’t like it overly sweet, so dark chocolate was definitely the right choice for me. Lindt Excellence 70% if you’re wondering.
And if you are craving more Easter treats, last year’s Chocolate Cherry Hot Cross Buns, Creme Egg Fudge, Peanut Butter Chocolate Nests, and my very first experience making ice cream (without a machine) are definitely worth a look. Oh Easter, what would we do without you.
- 275g (9.7oz) Oreo cookies - about 25 cookies
- 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 240g (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
- 360g (1½ cups) cream cheese (I used full fat Philadelphia)
- 150g (1½ cups) icing sugar (US confectioner's sugar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Yellow food colouring
- 10g (1½ tablespoons) cocoa powder
- 4 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs, chopped into small pieces
- 300ml (1¼ cups) double or heavy cream
- 6-8 large Cadbury Creme Eggs, refrigerated
- 50g (1.75oz) dark or bittersweet chocolate
- Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin. If you have not put the full-size Creme Eggs in the fridge already, pop them in the freezer now. This will make them easier to cut in half for the top of your cheesecake.
- Crush the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs. The easiest way to do this is in a food processor, but you can also crush them by placing them in a sturdy plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin. Place the Oreo crumbs into a bowl, and add the melted butter. Stir together until the crumbs are evenly coated with the butter, and then spoon into the pre-prepared tin. Press the Oreo mixture right up to the edges of the tin using the back of a spoon, and level out the top, pressing down to make sure it is nice and compact. Place the tin in the freezer to set whilst you make the topping.
- To make the cheesecake topping, you are going to need three bowls. In each of the bowls place 80g (1/3 cup) of mascarpone cheese, 120g (½ cup) of cream cheese, and 50g (½ cup) of icing sugar, and mix each well. To the first bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and mix. To the second bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and some yellow food colouring, and mix well. To the third bowl, add the cocoa powder and the chopped mini Creme Eggs, and give it a good mix.
- Next, in a separate bowl, whip the double cream until stiff peaks are just beginning to form. This can be done by hand if you don't have an electric whisk. Spoon about a third of the cream (approx. 90g) into each of the three cheesecake bowls, and gently fold the cream into each of the three mixtures. You should now have a chocolate cheesecake mix, a yellow cheesecake mix, and a plain cheesecake mix in three separate bowls.
- Remove the Oreo base from the freezer, and spoon the chocolate cheesecake mix onto the top of it. Level it out with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula, making sure to press down to avoid any air bubbles forming. Try and make the edge of the cheesecake as clean as possible, to achieve a stripey look when finished - I used a paper towel to wipe away any excess mixture from the side of the tin.
- Next, place the plain cheesecake layer on top of the chocolate layer. Carefully spread this out and level it, just as before. Finally, repeat with the yellow cheesecake layer. Smooth the top out as much as you can, although any imperfections will be hidden by the Creme Egg halves and the chocolate drizzle.
- Get the full-size Cream Eggs from the fridge/freezer, and chop them in half vertically. This can be a little tricky, and you may only get one usable half from each of your Creme Eggs. I found using a serrated knife and not applying too much pressure helps here. Once you have 8 usable halves, then place them on top of the cheesecake as shown in the pictures above, pressing them into the cheesecake until they are pretty much flush with the top. You can save any remaining Creme Egg pieces for a snack later.
- Pop the cheesecake in the fridge to set for at least four hours, but preferably overnight. Once firm, gently release the springform tin and slide off the bottom. Carefully remove the greaseproof paper from the base - the Oreo layer should be pretty rick hard by now, so this will make this much easier than you would think. Place the cheesecake on a sheet of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, and drizzle the cooled melted chocolate over the top, alternating direction to give a criss-cross pattern, as in the pictures above. Return the cheesecake to the fridge until ready to serve.
- Don't leave the cheesecake at room temperature for more than an hour or so, as cream cheese will spoil quickly. Make sure to keep in the fridge when not serving, and it should stay fresh for at least three days, maybe even five if you are lucky.
Oh Charny, what would I do without you?
The beloved cheesecake was such a success <3
Holy drool. Cheesecake and creme eggs galore… what’s not to love here!? Need to try this one soon!!
Thanks Karly!