Chocolate Cookie Layer Cheesecake

Chocolate shortbread layered with an indulgently creamy filling makes this cake a delicious treat any day of the week!

Ingredients:

Makes one 9″ cake

For chocolate shortbread:

375g plain flour

300g butter, cold and diced

225g caster sugar

100g cocoa powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For filling and topping:

600g cream cheese

500g icing sugar

300ml double cream

½ vanilla extract

60g plain chocolate chips (we used Callebaut Dark Chocolate Chips from the Chocolate Trading Company)

Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda together in a mixer on a slow speed until well mixed. Add the butter and mix on a medium speed for approximately 5 minutes until a soft, pliable dough is formed.

Breaking off a section of dough at a time, roll out directly onto greaseproof paper to a thickness of approximately 1cm and use a 9″ cake tin as a template to cut out six discs. Transfer the disc, greaseproof paper and all, onto a tray and bake each one at 180°C for about ten minutes.

The discs will still be soft when it’s time to remove them. Don’t worry – they’ll firm up as they cool. Remove each one from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 20-30 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack. Move them while they are still on the greaseproof paper so they don’t break – a little like stretchering a patient!

It will take a few hours for the discs to cool completely. It is best to leave them overnight to allow them to cool down thoroughly. Once they are completely cool you can make the filling.

Using the whisk attachment in your mixer, mix together the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract on a medium speed for a couple of minutes until a smooth cream is formed.

As it continues to whisk, slowly add the double cream and mix for another couple of minutes or so until a lovely, spreadable mixture is created.

Place your first disc onto a cake stand or board and use a pallet knife to evenly spread a thick layer of filling, ensuring it goes all the way to the edges. Don’t worry about it looking too neat – drips and uneveness makes this cake all the better!

Continue alternating layers of biscuit and filling ending with a layer of filling on top of your last biscuit disc.