Chocoholic

I am on the 12-step chocoholics program:


I am never more than 12 steps away from chocolate!


Credits to Bhaskar for all the photographs [rather proof of all my moments of temptation... ;-)]

Cheesecake ~ God's Way of Blessing Us

Fresh fruits have always been a favourite with me....
Even when I hadn't discovered the baker in me, i use to do this cheesecake recipe. It always gives me wonderful results....


Made this orange cheese cake for someone very special....


For special people something special had to be done...... There was a surprise in the cheese cake..... chocolate coated fruit... Yummy..... How can I leave chocolate out of my dessert recipes. Got everything right by the book. Decorated the bowl with freshly peeled oranges. Now what to do for my second bowl.....

As usual S.O.S call to Deeba of 'Passionate About Baking'.... I had seen it somewhere on her blog ... Hmm.. Here it is.. She had done a 'DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ALMOND TORTE' for her mom's b'day decorated with Chocolate Leaves. She was really sweet to revert back in minutes with the process to do the chocolate petals. Have detailed it below after the recipe.


For the base:
1/2 packet glucose biscuits [abt 100gms]
60 gm butter [softened, not melted]
20gm grain sugar

For cheesecake:
250 ml cream[whipped]
150gm hung curd
100gm fruit pulp [use mango, orange, strawberries or any other fruit you fancy]
40 gms gelatin [in winter 1 reduce it by 2-3 pinches as it sets just fine]

Method:
For the base:
Crush the glucose biscuits finely [not to powder]
Bind them together with the softened butter till the mixture is course. [i use the back of a spoon, you could use ure hand if you like]
Pace this on the base of the dish in which you want to make the cheesecake and serve.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

For Cheesecake:
Whip the cream to soft peaks.
Mix in the hung curd to a silky consistency.
Add the fruit pulp and mix well, don't beat too much. [I like to leave a few course pieces of fruit in the mixture too]
Melt the gelatin in cold water first and then heat on a double boiler.
After it's completely dissolved, pour into the above mixture and mix well.
Take out the Refrigerated base, pour the above mixture into the bowl over the base.
Refrigerate for about an hour.[more in summers till it sets]
Garnish with fresh fruit or chocochips.

For Chocolate Petals:
Chocolate leaves are really really simple. They work best with rose leaves.
Pluck a bunch of rose leaves, clean & pat dry. Leave a stalk on each leaf to make it easier to peel off once the chocolate is set.
I make a few extra leaves just in case a couple break etc. They store very well in any case.
Melt some chocolate (I do it in the microwave), & then paint on gently onto the back of the rose leaf. (The back of the leaves has strong veins) .
Make sure the chocolate doesn't drip to the front of the leaf, or it gets difficult to peel off cleanly/without breaking.
Allow to set on a platter in the fridge. If you are in a hurry, then the freezer does the job in 10 minutes too.
Once the chocolate has set, quickly, but gently peel the rose leaf off. Quickly because the chocolate tends to melt on being held.

Hope you try this one day...it's a great feeling making your own leaves! I was so super excited..... It's beyond words..... They didn't like all come out brilliant... But enough to make me really happy..... 3 Cheers to you Deeba...

Deeba also made this recipe of cheese cake.... Strawberry Refrigerator Cheesecake... Eggless.... It's beautiful..... take a peek....
She's really sweet, calls me 'a chirpy young thing, full of beans'... LOL....