Chocolate and orange cheesecake
Me and my husband like to travel to different places and we always treat ourselves with a cheesecake and coffee. It has become our tradition and since we did not go anywhere recently I decided to make my own cheesecake.
We always enjoy a classical cheesecake with different toppings like raspberries or strawberries, but I wanted to make something different. Because I really love chocolate in my desserts, I chose to make a chocolate cheesecake. Since chocolate and orange go so well together I made an orange jelly and I also bruleed orange segments, which gave the cake some needed freshness. The jelly was good but it lacked in flavor. I used fresh orange juice and no sugar and that's probably why the flavor was not that strong. I would recommend that you put a tablespoon of sugar to the jelly mixture, depending on the sweetness of the oranges, to really bring out the flavor.
One of the most important things when making a cheesecake is that you do not over-mix the batter. You want to avoid adding air to the mixture which will cause your cheesecake to rise, fall and then crack. Keeping your ingredients at room temperature may also prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Some recipes recommend that you cook your cheesecake in a water bath so that the temperature is more even which also prevents cracking. I did not bother putting my cheesecake in a water bath and it did crack just a little, but it still tasted great and the toppings hide the cracks really well.
The other thing you must be careful about is overcooking the cheesecake. The center of the cheesecake should be a bit wobbly, because the cheesecake continues to cook as it cools and it will set completely when you refrigerate it. I was a bit scared when I pulled my cheesecake out of the oven and the center was still wet but it did cook through and after a few hours in the fridge the cake was completely set.
I made two variations of the cheesecake, one topped with orange jelly and one without the jelly with only bruleed orange segments. They were both delicious but I preferred the one without the jelly.
Making the filling:
We always enjoy a classical cheesecake with different toppings like raspberries or strawberries, but I wanted to make something different. Because I really love chocolate in my desserts, I chose to make a chocolate cheesecake. Since chocolate and orange go so well together I made an orange jelly and I also bruleed orange segments, which gave the cake some needed freshness. The jelly was good but it lacked in flavor. I used fresh orange juice and no sugar and that's probably why the flavor was not that strong. I would recommend that you put a tablespoon of sugar to the jelly mixture, depending on the sweetness of the oranges, to really bring out the flavor.
One of the most important things when making a cheesecake is that you do not over-mix the batter. You want to avoid adding air to the mixture which will cause your cheesecake to rise, fall and then crack. Keeping your ingredients at room temperature may also prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Some recipes recommend that you cook your cheesecake in a water bath so that the temperature is more even which also prevents cracking. I did not bother putting my cheesecake in a water bath and it did crack just a little, but it still tasted great and the toppings hide the cracks really well.
The other thing you must be careful about is overcooking the cheesecake. The center of the cheesecake should be a bit wobbly, because the cheesecake continues to cook as it cools and it will set completely when you refrigerate it. I was a bit scared when I pulled my cheesecake out of the oven and the center was still wet but it did cook through and after a few hours in the fridge the cake was completely set.
I made two variations of the cheesecake, one topped with orange jelly and one without the jelly with only bruleed orange segments. They were both delicious but I preferred the one without the jelly.
Chocolate and orange cheesecake
(Makes one large (20cm) or 3 small (12cm) cakes)
Time:
Preparation: 40min
Preparation: 40min
Cooking: 40min or until just wobbly in the middle
For the cookie base:
- 50g butter
- 13 chocolate cookies (I used Leibniz chocolate cookies)
- 35g walnuts
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 450g room temperature cream cheese (I used Philadelphia classic)
- 125g white granulated sugar
- 15g cocoa powder
- 2 room temperature eggs
- 140g dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 400ml orange juice
- 6g gelatin sheets
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 orange
- 100g dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoon sugar
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Roast the walnuts in the oven or in the pan until they brown slightly, set aside to cool. Melt the butter in a pan and set aside. In a food processor combine the cookies, roasted walnuts, brown sugar and salt. Process until you have coarse crumbs. Add the melted butter and process so that the mixture holds together. Put the cookie mixture in a spring-form pan(s) and press it down. I used a potato masher, it works really well and it mashes the crumbs together nice and flat. Bake for 8 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Making the filling:
Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) and beat until smooth (about 30 seconds). Add the eggs one at the time mixing for 10 seconds between the additions. Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix until combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter, mix just until combined. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.
Bake the cheesecake(s) in a preheated oven at 175°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes if you are making a small version or even longer for one big cheesecake. Bake until the center of the cheesecake is still a little wet and wobbly. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges of the pan so that the cheesecake doesn't crack while it cools. Once cool, place in the refrigerator until completely set for about 5 hours.
Making the orange jelly:
Place the gelatin in cold water and set aside to bloom. Boil 100ml of orange juice, take off the heat, squeeze the water out of the gelatin and put it in the hot orange juice. When the mixture cools mix in the remaining orange juice. Pour a tablespoon of orange jelly on top of the cheesecake and place in the fridge to set. After the jelly sets pour more orange jelly on top and put back in the fridge. I also tried another method, I poured the jelly in silicone molds and then waited for the jelly to set. When the jelly was still soft I placed it on top of the cheesecake.
Making the topping:
Peal the orange with the knife, slicing the skin away from the flesh. Remove any remaining white pith then cut between the membranes to slice away segments of the orange (Here is a step by step tutorial of segmenting an orange). Place the segments on aluminum foil and sprinkle the sugar over each segment. Gently caramelize all the segments with a kitchen blowtorch until all the sugar melts.
Place the orange segments evenly on the cheesecake.
For the chocolate swirls you will have to temper the chocolate:
Chop 75 grams of dark chocolate in medium sized pieces, put in the heat-proof bowl and set aside. Chop the remaining 25 grams of the chocolate in tiny pieces and set aside. Put some water in a pot and heat gently to a simmer. Place the bowl with 75 grams chocolate on top of the pot, the water should not touch the bowl. When the chocolate starts to melt, stir and check the temperature. Keep checking the temperature until it reaches 45-48°C (113-118°F). When the chocolate reaches the right temperature take the bowl of the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. The temperature should drop. Stir the chocolate gently to cool until it reaches 27°C (81°F). When the chocolate is cool enough place the bowl back on the pot of simmering water and heat back to 30-31°C (88-90°F).
Place a small amount of tempered chocolate on the acetate strip and smooth out with a palette knife so that you get a thin layer of chocolate. Take the decorating comb and go over the chocolate so that you are left with chocolate stripes. (In this video you can see what I am talking about, set the time at 2:56) Twist the acetate strip and put it in a glass so that it doesn't unroll. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes or until set. When the chocolate is set slowly unroll the acetate strip and the chocolate swirls should fall out.
Place the chocolate swirls on the cheesecake with bruleed orange segments and enjoy.
Making the orange jelly:
Place the gelatin in cold water and set aside to bloom. Boil 100ml of orange juice, take off the heat, squeeze the water out of the gelatin and put it in the hot orange juice. When the mixture cools mix in the remaining orange juice. Pour a tablespoon of orange jelly on top of the cheesecake and place in the fridge to set. After the jelly sets pour more orange jelly on top and put back in the fridge. I also tried another method, I poured the jelly in silicone molds and then waited for the jelly to set. When the jelly was still soft I placed it on top of the cheesecake.
Making the topping:
Peal the orange with the knife, slicing the skin away from the flesh. Remove any remaining white pith then cut between the membranes to slice away segments of the orange (Here is a step by step tutorial of segmenting an orange). Place the segments on aluminum foil and sprinkle the sugar over each segment. Gently caramelize all the segments with a kitchen blowtorch until all the sugar melts.
Place the orange segments evenly on the cheesecake.
For the chocolate swirls you will have to temper the chocolate:
Chop 75 grams of dark chocolate in medium sized pieces, put in the heat-proof bowl and set aside. Chop the remaining 25 grams of the chocolate in tiny pieces and set aside. Put some water in a pot and heat gently to a simmer. Place the bowl with 75 grams chocolate on top of the pot, the water should not touch the bowl. When the chocolate starts to melt, stir and check the temperature. Keep checking the temperature until it reaches 45-48°C (113-118°F). When the chocolate reaches the right temperature take the bowl of the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate. The temperature should drop. Stir the chocolate gently to cool until it reaches 27°C (81°F). When the chocolate is cool enough place the bowl back on the pot of simmering water and heat back to 30-31°C (88-90°F).
Place a small amount of tempered chocolate on the acetate strip and smooth out with a palette knife so that you get a thin layer of chocolate. Take the decorating comb and go over the chocolate so that you are left with chocolate stripes. (In this video you can see what I am talking about, set the time at 2:56) Twist the acetate strip and put it in a glass so that it doesn't unroll. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes or until set. When the chocolate is set slowly unroll the acetate strip and the chocolate swirls should fall out.
Place the chocolate swirls on the cheesecake with bruleed orange segments and enjoy.
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| Chocolate cheesecake with orange jelly and orange segments |
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| Chocolate cheesecake with bruleed orange segments |
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