Malawi Mocha & Mandarin Cheesecake
If you enjoy a decadent, luscious cheesecake with the distinctive flavour of coffee, then you will definitely enjoy devouring a slice of this mocha and mandarin cheesecake for dessert or served with coffee. It also happens to be gluten free. Why mocha and mandarin, you may wonder? Well, I love the combination of coffee with most things, but more specifically, the combination of mandarin orange and Malawian coffee works magically. No, I didn’t choose the Malawian coffee for the alliteration affect of mmmalawi, mmmocha, mmmandarin, but because of the coffee’s sweet citrus, berry, fleshy fruit and floral notes. Yes, I do know that I tend to get a bit carried away when talking about coffee, but I can’t seem to help myself, as that’s the effect that it has on me! I am so excited to share my recipe with you. (Is it just me, or do you also find it annoying when bakers are secretive about their recipes? I can understand if they earn a living from baking, but if not, surely we can know what goes into dear Aunt Whoever’s whatsoever cake?)
| Malawian Mocha & Mandarin Orange Cheesecake |
Crust ingredients:
400 g desiccated coconut (2 x 200g packets)
250 g unsalted butter (at room temp)
10 Tablespoons mandarin syrup (optional)
Steps:
1 Combine and mix the coconut, syrup and butter together
2 Brush 25cm Springform pan with butter
3 Place mixture in to the pan ensuring it is spread equal throughout
4 Press the mixture down to form a tight crust
5 Place the tin in the fridge to solidify the crust
Cheesecake filling ingredients:
500 g mascarpone cheese (at room temp)
5 eggs at room temp
Stevia liquid (amount dependant on how sweet you would like it)
2 cups double cream yoghurt
1 shot of espresso
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 slab of 90 % dark chocolate
3 Tablespoons of honey
Topping
1 can of mandarin segments
2 blocks of 90% dark chocolate
Steps:
1 preheat oven to 180C
2 Lightly beat room temperature mascarpone in a bowl until soft and light.
3 Add honey and desired amount of stevia (be careful not to add too much Stevia as it can taste artificial and be quite bitter)
4 Add eggs, one at a time
5 Add the remaining ingredients (keep two blocks of chocolate aside for decorating)
6 Pout mixture in to the baked crust in the springform pan
7 Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes at 180C
8 Turn the oven off and leave the cake inside for another 60 minutes
9 Once cooled, place in the fridge overnight
10 Remove from springform pan and decorate with mandarin orange segments and dark chocolate shavings
