The "I found my Millions!" Cheesecake

I was recently flicking through some bad photos that I took a few months ago for my blog - you know the kind that don't quite make the cut because the light is too bad or you sneezed and the picture is blurry - and nestled in amongst the blurs of the generally awful photos I found these little bad boys:

I am incredibly mortified and ashamed of myself for forgetting to document such a wonderfully marvellous hunk of yum. This cheesecake was the brain child of cravings and gluttony. There is no simpler way to put it.

Cheesecake is one of those puddings that can sometimes be a little underrated. Someone says "Cheesecake" and the first thing you think of is a little slice of completely uniform, bland looking slice of white with a drizzle of coulis on top. Quite honestly, you think; boring. These cheesecakes are bad cheesecakes. They are the prim and proper cheesecakes that like to be introduced as "Le Sheeze-cake", they are not cheesecakes that make you feel fat the minute you set eyes on them, they are not the kind of cheesecake that will grab you by the taste buds and take you on a wild ride in a stolen cake tin, they are not the cheesecake that will slide the full length of the table and land squarely in front of you and announce "HEY! I. am. CHEESECAKE!". They aren't. But this is:

Look at it's rebellious slouch.

Look at it's firm, tight digestive base.

Just look at it.

Now that my friends is a true cheesecake.

The Ingredients:

For the Base (For the love of God, please follow the link!) 

200g Digestive Biscuits - Ordinarily I would avoid plain digestives as a base but on this occasion the base is only the supporting act.

75g of Unsalted Butter

For the Salted Caramel Layer

I used the same recipe from here.

275g Caster Sugar

110ml Double cream

135g Butter

75ml water

Good pinch of sea salt

For the Cheesecake Filling

400g Cream Cheese (I used a low fat one....you know, to try and keep it healthy!)
300g Mascarpone Cheese
200g Icing Sugar
1tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Ganache 

250g Milk Chocolate
200ml Double cream

The Method:

Start with the base. Take your digestives, wrap them up in a clean towel (or put them in a freezer bag) and bash them to within an inch of their lives.

Melt your butter gently then add your freshly bashed biscuits. Stir together until combined then transfer to a spring release tin. Pop them whole thing into the fridge to set.

Follow these instructions here for your caramel. Get your base out of the fridge. Add your caramel and then put it back in to chill.

Now, combine together your cream cheese, mascarpone, Icing sugar and vanilla extract. Give it a good old mix then add to your tin.

Leave the cheesecake to set for a few hours before doing your ganache topping....otherwise it will all sink in.

Once you are ready for your ganache heat your cream up in a pan until just simmering. Add in your chocolate and stir until all of your chocolate is melted. Allow to cool a little before adding to the top of your cheesecake. Pop it all back in the fridge to set until you really can't wait any more.......then eat the whole thing!

I used a little left over caramel to decorate the top along with a sprinkle of salt.

Now, that is how you make a rebellious cheesecake!

And remember, What kind of cheese can hide a horse??? Mascarpone!