Nigella's Chocolate Lime Cheesecake

Sydney is still swamped by more dismal weather (when will it ever end?), which makes for perfect relaxing - not so for studying. Reading through all my recipe books is probably the most fun I can ever have in my pjs. It's right up there with perusing the IKEA catalogue in bed. Anyhow baking for me right now is perfect therapy for the doom and gloom outside.

Nigella Bites (along with the DVD) was one of the first cookbooks I bought from what seems like an eternity ago. It's certainly well-thumbed through but I realised that I haven't actually cooked many of the recipes out of it! Well...apart from Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches (when I literally ate that every day for a month!).

The chapter on Trashy food is definitely my favourite and the Chocolate Lime Cheesecake was one I've always wanted to try but never got around to it. The thought of the tangy filling with a chocolate biscuit base has always intrigued me. Besides I've never baked a cheesecake before so there's no more perfect time to get trashy.




Nigella's Chocolate Lime Cheesecake



Ingredients

250g plain chocolate biscuits (I used Arnotts Choc Ripple - photo at end of post)
95g chopped unsalted butter - at room temperature
750g Philadelphia cream cheese
200g caster sugar
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
juice of 4 limes

23cm springform cake tin
aluminium foil


NOTE:

Nigella's original recipe calls for a 20-21cm springform tin but I found a tin that size to be too small to house all the cheesecake batter. Also so I didn't want a very thick wedge of cheesecake. I used a 23cm instead and it was a perfect fit for the amount of batter but the biscuit base measurements had to be increased.

If you're using a 20-21cm tin, reduce the amount of chocolate biscuits to 200g and butter to 75g.

Mr S. - hand model du jour and also the elbow grease required for such a tough job.

Method

Prepare the tin by placing a large overlapping piece of foil over the bottom of the springform tin. My foil wasn't wide enough to cover all sides adequately so I had to use 2 overlapping pieces.

Insert the pan ring over it and secure it. Fold up the foil around the sides of the tin and place the whole tin on another large sheet of foil and fold and press it securely up the sides as well. Again I did this twice with my size of foil.

This is suppose to form a water tight covering from the water bath but as Nigella mentions, you will still find some water dribbles. As long as you unwrap the outer layer of foil straightaway after baking then it shouldn't cause any sogginess.




Process the biscuits in a fod processor until they're crumbs and add the butter and pulse again until all combined.

Line the tin with the biscuit base and use your hands or the back of a spoon to press into the tin until all compact and level.




Refrigerate the biscuit base to set and preheat the oven to 180°C. If you're short on time the freezer will work just as well.

Beat the cream cheese gently until smooth and then add the sugar.

Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then the lime juice. Put a full kettle of water on.

Pour the cream cheese filling into the chilled biscuit base and place the tin in a deep roasting tray.

I love the 'pouring' shots!

Pour the hot water from the kettle around the foil-wrapped tin until the water comes up halfway up the tin. Be careful not to splash any water in the cheesecake. Likewise don't overfill the tray with water so you won't spill it en-route to the oven.

Carefully transfer it to the oven and bake for 1 hour but check it after 50 minutes. The cheesecake should feel just set but still with a hint of wobble. Overcooking it would just cause the tops to crack then split as the cheesecake cools.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven (be careful not to spill!). Gently remove the tin from the water bath and stand it on a rack.

Peel off the outer layer of foil and the side bits of the first layer of foil and leave to cool.

When it has completely cooled down, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving.



Nigella's Notes:

Transfer to a cake stand or serving plate (preferably one without a lip) and unclip. The underneath layer of foil as well as the base of the tin will have to remain as it's too risky to take the fragile cheesecake off it (unless you like to live dangerously as Nigella quotes).

It'll be easier if you heat the knife and the cake slicer under the hot tap first before you cut it.



Taste Verdict?

Oh...my...gosh. After the chocolate overload I had with the monstrous Mud Cake I made last time - this was exactly what I needed for my sugar intake. The lime filling had just the right amount of sourness and it cuts through the rich, creamy cheese filling. I loved the chocolate biscuit base as well and I can't believe how well the sweet base goes with the tart filling. I'm not much of a cheesecake person but this one's a keeper!





This recipe was adapted from the book 'Nigella Bites' from Nigella Lawson (also featured on the Nigella Bites DVD).