Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

If there is one cheesecake you make this year, let it be this Mint Chocolate Cheesecake.

I don't know where the time has gone this month, but I have managed about half of the Christmas baking I was intending to do. Instead of baking I have filled my weekends with family visits (which are a big deal when your parents are five hours away by car and your cousin is usually in Malaysia), a trip to London to peruse the Borough and Spitalfields Markets, and finally a couple of work-related Christmas gatherings. Not the worst way to fill one's time when away from the kitchen, I must say.

Amongst all the festive activity, I did manage to make this Mint Chocolate Cheesecake. I was very pleased with how it turned out; it was everything I wanted it to be. The only thing I might work on next time is the thickness of the ganache, since it basically set as soon as I had spread it over the cake. 

Of course, following the obsession that I have with baking with alcohol, the mint flavouring comes from Creme de Menthe. This works very well and there is no bite, but if alcohol in refrigerated goods isn't your thing (or if children are involved), you can substitute with peppermint flavouring and green food dye. 

This is my entry to Baking With Spirit (hosted by yours truly) - the December theme is Festive. Any more entries that include booze and a festive theme are very welcome up until the 28th. 

Ingredients

• 200g Bourbon Biscuits (those are a type of chocolate biscuit, non-UK dwellers)
• 50g Butter
• 400g Generic Cream Cheese (for example, I used supermarket "cream cheese")
• 200g Mascarpone
• 150g Caster Sugar
• 1 Sachet Gelatine
• 100mL Creme de Menthe
• 100g Dark Chocolate
• 50mL Water

Recipe

• Crush the biscuits into crumbs using either a rolling pin or a food processor.
• Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until there are no more solids, then stir into the crushed biscuits.
• Press the biscuit mixture into the base of a 9in springform tin that has been lined with baking parchment, then place to one side.
• Prepare the gelatine as per the manufacturer's instructions.
• Beat the cream cheese together until smooth, then stir in the sugar.
• Stir the Creme de Menthe into the gelatine, then pour the liquid into the cheese mixture.
• Taste the mixture and add more Creme de Menthe to taste.
• Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and refrigerate for a few hours, ideally overnight.
• When the cheesecake has set, make the ganache by melting the chocolate in the microwave, allowing it to cool slightly and stirring in the water.
• Allow the ganache to thicken while it cools.
• Remove the cheesecake from its tin and place on a plate or cake stand. 
• Spoon the ganache on top of the cheesecake. It will spread best if a palette knife is used whilst rotating the plate (a turntable will come in useful here).
• Decorate as desired - I used crushed candy canes and edible glitter.

If you like this, you may also be interested in this Mint Chocolate Cake.

The theme for Alphabakes this month is X for Xmas, so I'm entering this cheesecake into the challenge. Alphabakes is run by Caroline at Caroline Makes... (this month's host) and Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker.