Toblerone Cheesecake

Oh yes... What a gem this is. Not if your trying to trim down that's true but this is worth the extra run or zumba class. I'll admit I didn't use a recipe for this. A lot of the time when making desserts I go off the feel/taste as I'm making it. Be sure to taste this as you go to make sure it's as sweet or not to sweet. However you like it. Also beware of the base. If you like a nice hard base you'll want to add enough butter to make your biscuit very wet. Personally I like a very light base that crumbles in your mouth. Especially pleasing with the special base I made.

Personally this turned out to have the perfect balance. It wasn't too sweet but didn't have a strong cheese bite either. In the words of my husband "It's the best cheesecake I've ever tasted" OK technically he swore (Australians what can ya do) but it's rare for him to make such a comment so I was over pleased with myself. I think even if you wouldn't be toblerone's biggest fan, you'd still enjoy this. For presentation I drizzled with chocolate sauce and pipped some whipped cream on top. Hey what's a few more calories right? ;)

So here it is my Toblerone Cheesecake

You will need;

400g cream cheese
2 lrg heaped tbsp mascarpone
100g butter
6 hobnobs (or similar oat based biscuit)
5 rich tea biscuits (or similar plain biscuit)
200g Toblerone
1/4 cup icing sugar

Silicone dish or baking tin with removable base

Grease your dish using a small amount of butter. Make sure and get into the edges of your tin so you don't have a last minute disaster

Pop your biscuits into a Ziploc bag, remove air and seal
Take out your frustration with a rolling pin
Don't go too crazy. You want to keep a good textural base

Melt butter over a hob or in the microwave

Add more of less butter depending on how you like your base. I like it to stick but not to become hard
Mix gently in a bowl

Press gently into the base of your dish

Pop into the fridge


If you have a food processor this is a good time to dust it off.
You want to break up the toblerone. You can also use the good old rolling pin and Ziploc trick
Using a sieve, remove any fine powder that comes off while crushing
Set aside

In a large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until it holds a peak

Add mascarpone and whisk again

Add sugar, whisk again (you get the idea)

This is easiest if you use a hand mixer. You want to get as much air as possible into the mix. You want a very light fluffy mix when you're done.

Now you want to very gently fold in the crushed toblerone. Using your spoon, draw a line down the center of your mix and gently fold a side by turning from underneath. Gently repeat until the toblerone is mixed evenly. Take your time with this because you want to retain as much air as possible.

Gently pop into the dish on top of the biscuit base. Careful to not press the air out

Leave to set in the fridge. I left this for about 5 hours before I gave my husband some when he came in from work. Best left over night if you can.

That does seem like a rather long post but I hope I've remembered my own actions and passed on a few useful tips. Please let me know what you think and contact if you need any help :)

R x

Grow your own

Well here they are. The first lot of potatoes grown organically in our garden.

I roasted them in olive oil, salt & pepper and some garlic butter

There is a strange sense of pride when harvesting your own food. Myself and our little chef went out yesterday and dug up two lots. We still have loads of potatoes to come and a second harvest of spring onions coming soon. All our tomato plants (all 12) are growing strong. I grew them from seed so I'm overly impressed they are actually still alive let alone that so many survived.

On the sweet side we have strawberries, blueberries and cherries :)
Watch out for some yummy desserts when they are ready to be picked

I regret not planting carrots. I have a love of carrots and there seems to be a very poor crop available to buy. Though we grow mostly in pots so I think I may run out of deck space if I put much more on there.

I am a huge garden fan anyway but this year I'm really enjoying making random things from the garden. We have grown edible flowers (coming soon), I have made rose water from out own beautiful roses. I am hoping to do something with the sunflowers and there is lavender looking at me begging to be used creatively.

                     Here is the rose water. I will be posting a step by step how to soon

I hope it's not raining as much where ever you are in the world! Though at least I won't have to water the garden :)

R x

Strawberry Salad

Yes that's right, strawberry in a salad. Don't say no so quickly! Try it out. This really is very nice.

My lovely wife picked up some strawberries today while we were doing out food shop so this was the result when she couldn't decide what she felt like for dinner. "Something light and fresh"

I aim to please

This is really quick and simple, as any salad should be


Serves 4

You will need;

250g Strawberries, tops removed and quartered
1 bag of mixed leaves or about 200g if you grow them yourself
100g Spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
100g Feta
Good handful of chopped walnuts

Dressing

1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
70ml balsamic vinegar

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pop into the fridge until needed
This can also be saved, in the fridge if you have some left over

Combine all salad ingredients and crumble the feta
Toss gently

Toss through some of the dressing


Serve with chicken, fish, or with some pizza slices like we did

I hope you enjoy

B

Where is my Sunshine?!

This morning I was standing in the kitchen looking out the window, feeling a little less than enthusiastic about the sudden disappearance of the beautiful sunshine. I don't know about where you are but I was cold and feeling like crawling back under the covers was the best option this Sunday morning.
However with a husband getting ready to leave for work and a 3 year old hanging off my leg it was sadly not an option.
I am not a fan of tea (yes I said it) and I usually don't drink coffee unless out and about, so I needed to come up with something else to pep me up. We have a rather large selection of herbal teas but I just wasn't feeling the urge for that distinctive green tea taste.

While checking the plants and herbs by the window for dehydration I, as I often do, rubbed my fingers over the mint leaves for a quick intake of beautiful aroma

**Light bulb**

Mint into a glass, pour hot water over and leave to cool. The mint infuses beautifully and leaves a warm tummy pleasing drink.

So if you're feeling chilly today and happen to grow some mint, why not try this out?

Your insides will thank you

R