Saved By Cake Challenge - May

I have decided to challenge myself to bake a different cake/biscuit from Marian Keyes' book, Saved By Cake, each month, between March and December. I am a beginner at baking and use the same recipes over and over again so it'll be nice to try something new. I will take photos and post them on here each month - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Black Hole Chocolate Cheesecake

I've had it easy over the past couple of months, easing myself in, if you like. I've made rock cakes and an apple crumble so far so this month's cake would be an actual challenge.

 

I love cheesecake. It's my favourite desert. The best cheesecake I've ever had was on Christmas Day 2011 in the Novotel Times Square hotel's restaurant. It was a New York cheesecake and while it was small, it was perfect (and it became clear why it was small - that portion was more than enough).

 

But I've never attempted to make one myself. I didn't think it would be possible but I gave it a go.

 

There is a whole section of cheesecakes in the Saved by Cake book but I chose the Black Hole Chocolate Cheesecake. With the previous recipes, I'd changed an ingredient for personal preference but with this one I followed the recipe exactly, even using black pepper despite being sceptical (black pepper in a cheesecake?).

 

It takes quite a while to make the cheesecake as you are supposed to leave it in the oven overnight (though not switched on all that time) and then in the fridge overnight. I started mine on a Friday evening and almost messed it up straight away.

 

The recipe uses digestive biscuits. Cool, I thought. I've already got a packet of those in the cupboard so I don't need to buy any.

 

No. I had chocolate digestives and so I had to make a dash to the shop before it closed. Note to self: double check the bloody ingredients before you start.

 

With the right biscuits, I made the cheesecake. The recipe was surprisingly easy to follow. I thought making a cheesecake would be difficult but, while it took a while due to overnight stays in the oven and fridge, it was straightforward.

 

Look at that bad boy

 

And it turned out beautifully. I did notice The Partner tasted the cheesecake before injecting his insulin (how's that for faith, eh?) but his test was unnecessary as it was gorgeous and very dense and chocolatey. Like the cheesecake I had at Christmas, a small portion was more than enough.

 

It was quite pricey once you'd added all the ingredients up but it was worth it. And there are plenty more cheesecakes to try (and taste) in the book.

 

 

For more Saved by Cake Challenges click here