Irish Cream Cheesecake

"Coffee Solves Everything" - Anonymous

Well almost and in all it's forms.....
The Irish Cream Cheesecake is by far one of my favourite 'coffee desserts' which I finally attempted to try making and I was quite pleased...with myself and the dessert !!

Irish Cream Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the Base

20 Digestive Biscuits

10 Marie Biscuits

4 tbsp Melted Butter

8-9" diameter loose bottom cake mould

For the Cheesecake
500 g Thick Cream (I used Amul cream)

1 cup Powdered Sugar

300 g Cream Cheese

5 tsp Gelatine soaked in 1/2 cup water

Coffee Solution (75 g coffee dissolved in warm water with 4 tbsp of brown sugar and cooled to room temperature)

4 tbsp of Whiskey or Rum ( I prefer whiskey - it is closer to the original Irish cream)

For the Topping

Chocolate Ganache`

    230 g Dark Cooking Chocolate

    180 ml Cream

    2 tbsp Unsalted butter

Directions

1. Pound the digestive and Marie biscuits to a rough crumbly powder. I pounded them with the rolling pin after putting them in a zip lock bag.
2. Melt the butter and mix with the biscuits and now set this in the cake mould. Press it down well and make sure the base is evened out. Keep in the fridge for 1 hour to set well.
3. Heat the soaked gelatine on low flame. Keep stirring continuously and make sure it doesn't come to a boil. Once the gelatine is completely dissolved remove from fire and let it cool.
4. Whip the cream to soft peaks or atleast a slight increase in volume.
5. Whip the powdered sugar and cream cheese so they are smoothly blended. Add the coffee solution, the whipped cream, and now gelatine and lastly the whiskey.
6. Mix everything together till all ingredients are blended in completely. Take the base out of the fridge and pour the mixture over the base.
7. Let it set in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
8. For the top glazing, prepare the ganache`. Heat the cream in a heavy bottom pan. Cut the chocolate into small equal size pieces and pour into the cream and keep stirring continuously till the cream and chocolate blend in completely. Add the butter and mix over low-medium heat. Turn of the heat and keep stirring for another 2 minutes. Once a little cool pour over the set cheesecake and return it to the refrigerator for another 2 hours.
9. Demould and dust with icing sugar and decorate with strawberries just before serving.

Happy Baking !!