Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Few weeks ago I received my first Degustabox at home and since the moment I open the box I knew already I was going to do something with one of the two bars of the Lindt chocolate, the problem was to not eat them straight away! I love the black chocolate but I specially I love it with the orange touch, so I decided to use the Lindt Orange Intense and what better to make a cheesecake? If you have a look to my index recipe you will see I love cheesecakes and here is my chocolate orange version. This is specially for dark chocolate lovers and do not forget to make your cheescake in advance, a good cheescake is definitely better prepared one day in advance, let is set and cool down at least 6 hours before serving.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

for the crust:

180 g cookie

60 g melted butter

for the filling:

200 g Orange Intense Lindt Chocolate

100 ml orange juice and the zest of the orange

400 g cream cheese

125 g sour cream or also posible greek iogurt

75 g white sugar (I use caster sugar)

2 large eggs

20 g flour

cocoa powder for decorating

Preheat the oven to 160º and prepare a loose-bottomed tin of 20 cm.

Crush the cookies in a food processor or in a plastic bag, seal the bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix together with the melted butter with a fork until well incorporated. Place this mixture in the greased tin and press with the bag of a spoon. Keep it in the fridge to set while we do the filling.

Put the orange juice into a saucepan on a low heat and to the boil. Break up the chocolate and mix into the orange juice once starts boiling. Stir constantly until completly melted. Set aside and allow to cool down.

Mix the sugar,the cheese cream and the sour cream in a large bowl, using an spatula and a hand whisk, until smooth Add the chocolate mixture and the orange zest. Beat the egges in a small bowl apart, add them to the mixture and finally mix in the flour, do not overmix.

Pour filling into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes it should feel firm to the touch with a slight wobble in the center. Allow the cheesecake to cool down at room temperature in the tin and on a wire rack and place it in the fridge to set for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.

Unmold before serving. Top with cocoa powder.

To prevent the top from cracking, be careful not to overmix the batter and do not open the oven during the baking. 

If you want to receive your box at home and have a monthly surprise do not hesitate to contact Degustabox and ask for your box, you will enjoy of a large selection or products and you can make such a nice recipes as this cheesecake.

Have a nice week  ♥

Cherry Tomato Tart

Fast and easy brunch, lunch or dinner. You know already how much I love salty tarts, and this one turned in one of my allied last months. Since I did this one I tried different options of fillings, but cherry tomato is specially delicious and looks so good on the table once baked, don't you think so? It’s amazing what a little Dijon mustard gives to the dishes, you can add as much or as less as you want, it depends of your taste, but preferably add at least a teaspoon.

Cherry Tomato Tart

makes a 22 cm round mold
For the pastry:

100 g butter cold and cubed
150 g all-purpouse flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
a pinch of black peper
1 large egg

For the filling:
1 large egg

4 tablespoons greek yogurt

30 ml whole milk

1 or 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I put 2)

salt and pepper

fresh thyme

500 g cherry tomato

For the instrucctions for the pastry you can check here.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Beat the egg, add the milk, the yogurt and the mustard until smooth add the salt and the thyme and fill the tart with the mixture. Top with the cherry tomatoes.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden en curd. Remove form the oven and let it cool few minutes before serving. You can serve warm or cold. You can top with some fresh basilicum and more thyme. 

Have a nice week  ♥

Peanut Butter and Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did you see already the new issue of the Sweet Magazine? This month I'm collaborating with an interview to the spanish famous blogger MJ and you will find out lots of recipes and tricks.

And now let's go with the recipe of today. It was quite several weeks I did not publish a cookie recipe. Last week a friend of mine asked me to make the peanut butter cookies I did few months ago, instead I thought to change the the recipe and also beacause I don't have peanut butter chips. So the result is a soft cookie, like a brownie inside and with the surprise of the peanut taste mixed with the amazing nutella. 

Peanut Butter and Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 18 cookies
285 g plain flour
50 g cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

115 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

340 g light brown caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

nutella and peanut butter for filling

100 g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 170ºC.
Sift the flour, the cocoa, the baking powder and the salt in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and the milk and beat just until wel combined. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.
Shape the dough into a balls and place them on the baking tray. Make a hole using your finger in the center of the ball, fill it with a spoon of nutella and a spoon of peanut butter. Top with a flattened piece of dough and make sure to seal the edges.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let them on the tray for 2 minutes and  before transfering on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. 

Have a nice week  ♥

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Hello, today I was expecting to show you my birthday cake I did last weekend. Yes! I've turned one year old! I invited some friends to home on saturday evening and I delighted them with some appetizers, quiches and a cake. I spent the whole day in the kitchen preparing everything, but it was worth and I had a lovely evening. With the rush I could not make properly pictures to the table I prepared, so no pictures.

So here I am with this yummy loaf cake with lemon and poppy seed and drizzled with a lemon glaze. The recipe is adapted from Lorraine Pascale. I still have poppy seeds which I've got on my last visit to my friend Fernanda in Edinburgh, she is the owner of the lovely blog of Fascinating Food. Hope you enjoy this cake!

Poppy Seed Cake

makes a 18 cm tin
125 g unsalted butter at room temperature
150 g white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
150 g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt 
2 lemons
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Sift the flour, the baking powder and the salt in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and the sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and the grate of the two lemons and beat just until wel combined. Finally add the poppy seeds, mix and pour into the greased loaf tin. Bake for 35 minutes or until you insert a skewer in the middle this comes clean. Remove from the oven and alow the cake to cool down for few minutes and place in a wire rack.
In the meanwhile make the drizzle mixing a tablespoon of the lemon juice and the icing sugar in a bowl until you get the desired consistency.
Drizzle the loaf and serve. 

If you like this combination do not miss these muffins.

Have a nice week  ♥