Double Chocolate Fudge Cheese Cake

So it's Valentines Day - what else could be more befitting than something to do with chocolate. They say chocolate is a great aphrodisiac- why not double the impact with a Double Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake!! This recipe has of course has lots of cocoa in many forms. Here's to all the Valentines across the world. This cheese cake was baked with help of my little helper Naga. This preparation has got 3 parts, the fudge cake base, cheesecake and the "ganache". I've always heard of this ganache and thought it was something very technical in baking terms - only to realise that it was nothing but icing made out of heavy cream. It is a long process as in there is a lot of wait time involved - but a fairly simple process. So without much further ado....

Ingredients

Chocoloate Fudge Cake Base

1. ½ cup cocoa powder
2. 1 tsp baking powder
3. 1¾ cups  plain flour
4. 1¾ cup sugar - I used brown sugar
5. 250g / 2 sticks unsalted butter (melted)
6. 1¼ cups milk 
7. ¼ cup oil  (vegetable, canola)
8. 2 eggs

Cheesecake

1. 2 blocks of cream cheese (250 gms each)
2. 3 eggs
3. 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Ganache

1. 250 ml of heavy cream
2. 125 gms milk chocolate chips
3. 125 gms dark chocolate chips

The Method

The Base

1. Sift and mix all the dry ingredients for the fudge cake (#1 - 3) into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add all the wet ingredients along with sugar and mix it well until it turns into a nice smooth batter.
3. Grease the bottom and inner sides of a spring pan baking tray with oil.
4. Pour the batter and bake in a 165 degree fan forced oven for about 15 - 20 minutes. 
5. Make sure there is enough space for the cheesecake batter to be poured.
6. Stop baking as soon as you smell the cake. Do the toothpick test to ensure it comes out clean.
7. Set the baked base aside for about 20-30 minutes and allow it to cool.

Cheesecake

1. Mix the blocks of cream cheese (already under room temperature) until it gets all mushed up.
2. Mix the eggs and vanilla extract and make a smooth batter. Use an electrical whisk if needed.
3. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the fudge cake base.
4. Bake the cheese cake for about 15 - 20 minutes until the top layer gets a bit of a brownish tint.
5. Take the pan out and ensure the batter passes the "jiggle test" - there should be some minimal movement of the cheese cake.
6. Cool the baked cake for about 30 minutes and place it in a fridge for about 4 hours. I refrigerated it overnight.

Ganache

1. Heat the cream on low-medium heat and bring it to boil.
2. Pour the boiling cream into a large bowl containing the chocolate chips.
3. Mix it well until the chocolate melts.
4. Filter this mix to avoid any lumps to get a nice velvetty mix.
5. Let it cool down to room temperature - for about an hour or so.

The Finale

1. Place the baked cake on a cooling tray (placed on a plate).
2. Pour the ganache mix from the center of the cake slowly in a circling fashion until the entire cake and its sides get coated with the ganache.
3. Refrigerate the cake for about an hour or so before serving.
4. You can garnish with your favourite berry - either a strawberry or a raspberry.

Voila

Happy Baking!!

C