Mint Chocolate CHEESECAKE (PHOODIE’S ‘EMERALD CITY’ CHEESECAKE) 34
September 29, 2015
A picture tells a thousand words.
It just does.
So let’s leave it to the pictures….
EXCEPT to say that in typical PHOODIE style, this Cheesecake is the epitome of fancy, impressive food being SUPER easy to make! You CANNOT get this recipe wrong, you cannot stuff it up, it just involves whipping some stuff up and folding it together!
PROMISE!
AND, in terms of decoration, your imagination is your only limitation! You can either go with a UNIFORM pattern e.g. Mint Slices spaced evenly around the edges and crumbled chocolate bars in the middle kinda thing, or a RANDOM ‘pattern’ e.g. stuff all over the place! If you go in the random direction, you can still have a bit of a ‘plan of attack’, and in my case, it was higher at the back and lower towards the front…
Also, all of the crumbs and small itty bitty left over bits of chopped up biscuit, chocolate bars etc need not go to waste…. or in to your mouth whilst you are cooking! I used it to make a ‘collar’ of minty goodness around the base of the cheesecake when it was on the stand! It finished it off really nicely!
PLEASE send me your photos when you make my baby – I love seeing your work! You can either email me at phoodie@phoodie.com.au OR post to Facebook (Click here) or Instagram @phoodiegram (Click here) or Twitter (Click here) or Pintrest (Click here)
ENJOY!
INGREDIENTS
Using a 25cm tin (with tall sides, approx 12cm – and filling it to the top!)
For the Base
100 g Arnott’s Mint Slice biscuits
400g Arnott’s Choc Ripple biscuits
200g butter, melted
For the Filling
5 x 225g packets Cream Cheese – Room Temperature
1 and 1/4 cups caster sugar
5 cups whipped cream
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon green food dye (you can vary this amount depending on how green you want it to be!)
1 block (118g) Nestle Aero Mint Chocolate – roughly chopped
For the Topping and Decoration
200g Dark Chocolate Melts
100ml Thickened cream
As many Mint Slices, Peppermint Crisp Chocolate Bars, Aero Mint Chocolate Bars as you want! I used approx 3 Cadbury Flakes, 12 Mint Slices, 5 Peppermint Crisps and 3 Blocks Aero Mint!
METHOD
NOTE: Make sure the cream cheese is at room temp and that your cream (for the filling) is already whipped and set aside.
1) Blitz the Choc Ripple and Mint Slice biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb. Combine with the melted butter in a bowl and mix. Transfer to a baking paper lined tin (I also grease the edges up with melted butter to ensure it doesn’t stick!) and using hands push evenly into the base and up the sides of the tin. Place in the fridge to set.
2) Place room temp cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer and beat on slow for 2 mins, increase speed to medium for a further 5 minutes and then mix on high for a further five minutes. You want to keep going until there are NO lumps and the mix is light and airy.
3) Turn mixer off and add in food dye and peppermint extract and then turn back on and mix again on medium until well combined.
4) Turn mixer off and very gently fold through the chopped Aero and whipped cream. It is important that you are gentle when doing this part but it is also important that the mixture is well-combined, so take your time!
5) Pour filling into base and smooth top with a spatula. Set in fridge. This should set properly within 3 hours but I prefer to make it the day before I am serving and then to finish the topping the next day.
6) To make the chocolate ganache topping place the chocolate and the cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds at 10 second intervals, stirring in between. When fully melted, set aside for a few minutes to cool slightly.
7) Remove cheesecake from fridge and slowly pour the ganache over the top of it. You can use as much or as little of this as you like (the remainder can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days and used as fudge sauce) but try to make sure it doesn’t spill over the edges too much!
8) Allow the ganache topping to set slightly (should take about 5 minutes) before generously decorating the top in an array of Arnott’s Mint Slice biscuits, Cadbury Flakes, Nestle Peppermint Crisp Bars and Nestle Aero Bubbly!
TAKE A PHOTO AND SEND IT TO ME EITHER ON EMAIL OR SOCIAL MEDIA… OH, and ENJOY!
34 comments
I am so making this for my birthday this weekend. Do you use a spring form pan?
Yes definitely! But be sure to line and grease it too! Send through some pics if you make it!
Is that 5 cups of cream to whip or 5 cups of already whipped cup? Sorry that part not very clear. Thanks will be making this for Christmas
Is that 5 cups of cream to whip or 5 cups of already whipped cream? Sorry that part wasn’t very clear. Thanks will be making this for Christmas!
Hi there – it needs to be whipped when added in, as per the picture. You can buy it whipped but I definitely prefer to whip my own! :)
Hi :)
Looks AMAZING!!
I think what Peta meant was that, because cream increases in size when whipped (I.e. One cup of runny cream will give you two+ cups of whipped cream), do you start with 5 cups of runny cream, whip them and add the result, or do you whip up, say, a 600ml carton and measure out 5 cups of the fluffy stuff?
Thank so much for this recipe- I can’t wait to make it!! :D
Thanks Lani! I am so excited to see everyone’s pictures when they make it! Yes, I understood what she meant, hope my answer clarified for her! As per the pictures, the cream added is whipped. That’s also why in the ingredients it says “whipped” cream as in it needs to be whipped when it is used. So sorry that it wasn’t clear! I think it is about 600-700ml of cream suitable for whipping to start. I always serve the extra cream alongside any cake I make as people love to add a bit more, Indulgent I know :)
Hello!
Yes exactly what I meant Lani thank you?
I’ll make a note of 600-700ml when I print out the ingredients, for when I go shopping?
Would I be able to ad your cake on my website so that many more can make this deli sous looking and tasting cake ?
So sorry I ment delicious
Absolutely! As long as you link directly back to the recipe here on our website!
WOW!! This would have to be my favourite flavour combination! Need to make this cake along with your neapolitan cheesecake- they look to die for!!
Thanks Emma – yes both DEFINITELY worth making – not too hard at all and really super delicious!!
I would love to make this next weekend for our Christmas Party, just double checking, there is no gelatine in the recipe at all, all of my cheesecake recipes have always had Gelatine in them
Yup – absolutely no gelatine! Stick to the recipe and you will be good! Please send in a pic if you make it! I have had more than 100 photos from all over the world already sent in :)
Hi there,
I am making this emerald city cake today and I am just wondering if you mean 5 x 250 g packets of cream cheese or just 225?? Cause my packets are 250g
Hi, I use 225g packets – so yup, I mean 5 x 225g. That’s a total of 1.125 kilos which I think is about 4 x 250g packets – just check the maths before you start though! Phone
I mean Phoodie, not phone!
Hi, sorry, I’m a bit confused about the 5 cups cream. I prefer to whip my own, but is it ok to measure out 5 cups of thickened or whipping cream and whip that?
Hey there – yes definitely much better to whip your own – I do too :) It is abouttttt 900ml thickened cream to start that will equal 5 cups whipped! Phone
Hey there – yes definitely much better to whip your own – I do too :) It is abouttttt 900ml thickened cream to start that will equal 5 cups whipped! Phoodie
oops Phoodie not Phone!
Made this cheesecake!! was delish, everyone loved it..had people in the restaurant commenting too!!
Awesome!!!
Made a vanilla cake as the base, used your cake top eesign, added some lego figures for a wizard of oz themed birthday cake. Emerald city and all. My 12 yo daughter loved it.
I would love to see pictures! Post to FB or Instagram!?
I have made this cheesecake once following the recipe. It was very soft even the next day so I have made it again changing the recipe in multiple areas, including the amount of peppermint essence, cream cheese, whipped cream, sugar. Cake needs gelatine for sure.. I also changed the quantities of the chocolate top. I will be making it a 3rd time for my birthday in May and I will post it for you phoodie. Thankyou for the inspiration :)
Thanks for your comment Zarndra. There must have been something you missed or a temperature issue etc when you made it as I have made it several times and, as you can see in the pictures, the texture is very light and fluffy. I also receive many messages and photos each week from people who have successfully made it. It’s so hard to help when I am not in your kitchen but I wish you the best of luck with it next time. I really dislike using gelatine in my cheesecakes but others do use it so I guess each to their own! Phoodie
This looks great, but most of the chocolate/mint cookies and candies aren’t available here in the USA. Anyone know a version that uses ingredients we have here in the States?
Hey there! Any type of Mint Candy / Mint Chocolate works…. also cookies make great toppings too – so mint choc cookies, mint oreos etc would work well! Hoodie
I see in your comments you have replied to the amount of cream required for the cheesecake. Is it 600-700mls or is it 900mls.
Oh yes – oops – I would say about 700… but as I said, I always whip ‘heaps’ then serve the extra alongside! Phoodie
Just made this but tweaked it a bit to be a bit smaller. It is the best cheesecake i have ever made i think!
HOORAY!!!! It’s so delicious!
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