Christmas might be well and truly over for another year, but if you’re anything like me the you’ve still got a metric tonne of chocolate lying around the house. Every cupboard and spare surface is stocked with Matchmakers, Lindor balls, and selection boxes. But I’ve found a much better use for two of the Terry’s Chocolate Oranges – turning them into this absolutely divine Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake!
I don’t say this lightly – this is one of the best ever recipes on my blog. I don’t know how I’m going to stop myself from eating another three slices before lunch.
Buttery Biscuit Base
I knew this chocolate orange cheesecake needed a chocolate base. But something was telling me that my usual go-to Oreo base wasn’t going to be quite the right fit. Enter: double chocolate chip cookies. They aren’t as sickly sweet as Oreos, and (purely on a shallow basis) I love how the base looks against the chocolate cheesecake topping.
I’ve got to give a shout out to the nice guy in Sainsbury’s who let me have the last packet of Maryland double chocolate chip cookies when we both reached for it at the same time. He basically saved this cheesecake. Somehow I don’t think it would have been anywhere near as delicious with hazelnut cookies in the base. So thank you kind sir!
Red or Blue?
When it comes to the chocolate orange cheesecake layer, I decided to use dark chocolate oranges (the ones in the red boxes) rather than normal chocolate oranges (the ones in the blue box). Cheesecakes can be incredibly sweet if you’re not careful, so I do tend to choose darker chocolate whenever possible, and I suggest you do the same. Don’t worry if you’re not usually a dark chocolate fan – it’s still a sweet little cheesecake, I promise.
The recipe below has two whole chocolate oranges in it, as well as the mini slices on top for decoration (those guys are regular milk chocolate ones). You’re going to want to keep back four or five segments of your bigger oranges to melt and drizzle over the top of the finished cheesecake, which should leave you with about 300g of dark chocolate orange left for the actual cheesecake layer.
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the cookie base
- 350 g double chocolate chip cookies
- 115 g unsalted butter melted
For the cheesecake layer
- 300 g orange chocolate I used dark Terry's chocolate oranges
- 240 g mascarpone cheese
- 360 g full fat cream cheese I used Philadelphia
- 150 g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 ml double or heavy cream
To decorate
- 1 tablespoon Orange zest
- Terry's Chocolate Orange slices
- 30 g dark or semi-sweet chocolate melted
Instructions
- Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin. Crush the 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 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 crumb 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.
- Break the orange chocolate up into pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave (stirring every 20 seconds) or over a pan of boiling water, until completely melted. Place in the fridge to cool slightly.
- To make the cheesecake topping, place the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, sifted icing sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk attachment). Beat until smooth. Add the slightly cooled melted chocolate to the bowl and mix well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the double cream until stiff peaks are just about formed. Add the cream to the cheesecake mix, folding in gently to avoid knocking the air out of the whipped cream, until completely incorporated.
- Remove the cookie base tin from the freezer, and spoon the cheesecake batter on top of it. Spread out using the back of a spoon or a palette knife, getting it right to the edges of the tin. Smooth out the top and place in the fridge until set. This will take at least four hours, but overnight is preferable.
- Once set, carefully remove from the tin and place on a serving plate or board. If necessary, neaten up the edges with a palette knife. Drizzle with melted chocolate and top with chocolate orange slices and a sprinkling of orange zest (optional).
Notes
Terry’s orange, Katie’s cheesecake <3