Chocolate crunch cheesecake

SERVES 12

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BASE

■ 34 chocolate-covered wafer fingers (you can use milk, white or dark chocolate or a mixture – I use Kitkats)

■ 300g digestive biscuits

■ 150g salted or unsalted butter,

melted

FOR THE FILLING

■ 450ml cold double cream

■ 500g full-fat cream cheese,

at room temperature

■ 120g icing sugar

■ 200g milk chocolate, melted

and cooled slightly

FOR THE TOPPING

■ 100g dark chocolate, broken

into pieces

■ 100ml double cream

■ 6 chocolate-covered wafer fingers, broken into small pieces

1

Line the bottom of a 20cm round springform cake tin with a circle of nonstick baking paper. Place the chocolate-covered wafer fingers around the inside edge of the prepared tin with the branding facing outwards. The edge of each finger should line up with the neighbouring finger. If there is a gap at the end, slice a finger in half vertically to fill it.

2

Put the digestive biscuits into a food processor and process until finely crushed or put them into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.

3

Tip into a large mixing bowl, then pour in the melted butter and mix until fully combined. 4

Carefully scoop the mixture into the tin, making sure you don’t knock any of the chocolate-covered wafer fingers over, then press it down firmly with the back of a spoon (this will secure the wafer fingers in place). Pop into the fridge while you make the filling.

5

In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. In a separate large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and icing sugar with the mixer until smooth, then pour in your melted milk chocolate and beat until just combined.

6

Fold in the whipped cream with a rubber spatula until just combined. Remove the chilled base from the refrigerator, then spoon in the filling, smoothing it out to the edges of the wafer fingers and pressing it down onto the base to avoid any gaps.

7

Put the chocolate pieces and cream into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute 20 seconds (the cream should be warm enough to melt the chocolate without boiling and curdling).

8

Leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir until the cream and chocolate start to come together. Continue to stir until smooth.

9

Pour the topping over the filling and quickly smooth it out to the edges using a metal spatula or the back of a spoon.

10

Sprinkle the broken chocolate-covered wafer pieces evenly over the top and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight, if possible, until set.