Strawberry, Coconut and Chocolate Cheesecake

Where does recipe inspiration come from?
Sometimes it's the craving for a certain flavour; sometimes it's a desire - or request - to make a certain something: cupcakes, cookies, brownies, macarons...

But very often, it's simply a matter of what's in the fridge.
Yes, I open the fridge or pantry door and wait for the contents to speak to me.
(Usually what they whine  is "better use me now before I land up in the bin!")

In this case it was ganache - left over from filling macarons; and strawberries - buy two punnets and save...
and tubs and tubs of cream cheese -  on promotion at the local grocery store ...

Inspiring stuff, huh?!

But saying that, I am inspired by the combination of strawberry, chocolate and coconut at the moment.

My previous post  used that blend with white chocolate. This recipe has dark chocolate, instead.
Although I'm sure it would be equally good with white chocolate. In fact, I'll try that out next, and let you know how they compare, ok?

**As I said, I've used dark chocolate ganache here, but you could easily substitute melted chocolate for the ganache.
You could also use store bought strawberry jam , I chose to make a quick home-made jam, though,   because the strawberries in my fridge were whining to be used!

 Marbled Strawberry, Coconut and Chocolate Cheesecake
 Recipe by Tea, Cake &Create 

**Extras - nice to have, but not essential...

Chocolate and Coconut Dipped Strawberries.

Make sure the strawberries are dry before dipping in melted chocolate, otherwise the chocolate will slide right off.  Dip immediately in desiccated coconut, and place on a non-stick surface until the chocolate sets.
 

**Strawberry Jam 

120g finely chopped strawberries
60g caster sugar
1 Tbs water
Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir, and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer until the mixture thickens - about 10 minutes. Use a hand-held blender or press with a fork to puree the jam a little.
Allow to cool slightly. 

**Dark Chocolate Ganache

120g dark chocolate, cut into small even sized pieces.
60ml heavy cream (whipping cream or 35% fat content).
Use a double boiler, or 30 sec bursts in the microwave, to melt the two ingredients together.
Stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly. Approximately half the ganache will be used in the cheesecake case, the other half will be used to drizzle over the surface of the cheesecake. 

Cheesecake Base

240g butter biscuits, finely crushed*
80g butter, melted 
60g desiccated coconut
80g dark chocolate melted, or use 80g dark chocolate ganache.** 
 
*(use digestive biscuits / Marie biscuits - I use the butter biscuits left over from classes, which I freeze until needed).

Mix all the ingredients together and press into the base of a greased and lined 20-22cm springform pan. 
Place in the freezer for 30min.

Cheesecake Filling

Preheat the oven to 160'C

2x 250g tubs cream cheese at room temp.
160g caster sugar
250ml sour cream
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
Coconut extract - I use Vanilla girl, just a few drops. 

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well in between additions.
Beat in the cream and vanilla extract.

Pour into the chilled base. Drizzle the surface of the cheesecake with the strawberry jam followed by the ganache that is left over from making the base. 

Bake in a water bath at 160'C for 60-70 minutes, or until just the centre of the cheesecake jiggles when gently shaken.
 Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar.

Once cooled, refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably overnight before serving.

Serve with  chocolate-and-coconut-dipped strawberries . 

Happy baking!

xxM