Chocolate swirl baked cheesecake recipe

This dessert is perfect for celebrations.

Rich, beautiful and decadent, New York-style baked cheesecake really is something special and is the perfect finish to a celebration meal. Warn your guests to save some room for this.

Chocolate swirl baked cheesecake

Serves 8

Ingredients

Chocolate biscuit crust

240g plain biscuits

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

¼ tsp cinnamon

80g butter, melted

Cheesecake filling

250g mascarpone

750g cream cheese, softened

3 size 8 eggs, whole

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

4 Tbsp plain flour

175g caster sugar

100g dark chocolate, melted and cooled

To decorate

Mascarpone frosting

100g mascarpone, chilled

½ cup icing sugar

½ cup cream, chilled

½ tsp vanilla extract

Guylian Seashells chocolates, strawberries, rosemary

Method

1. Chocolate biscuit crust: Place biscuits in a clean paper bag or between two sheets of paper. Pound with a rolling pin to crush into fine crumbs. Place in a bowl and mix in the cinnamon, cocoa and butter. Press onto the bottom of a buttered 23cm springform tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Cake: Combine mascarpone, cream cheese and sugar. Beat until smooth, then mix in vanilla. Add the eggs and an egg yolk, one at a time until the cake batter is completely smooth. Fold in flour. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Dot the melted dark chocolate on the top and, using a spoon or skewer, make a swirl pattern.
3. Bake in the oven at 160C for 70 minutes or until the cake is set with a slight wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven and leave to cool inside.
4. Mascarpone frosting: Beat mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar together to just combine. Add cream gradually, continue beating until a soft peak forms. Do not overbeat.
5. To decorate: Decorate with mascarpone frosting, seashell chocolates (or other chocolates with a soft praline filling), fresh strawberries, and rosemary.

NOTE: You can take some stress out of your Christmas prep by making this cheesecake ahead of time – the cheesecake can be frozen undecorated. Wrap tightly to freeze and use within a week. Defrost the fridge completely before decorating.