Cappuccino cheesecake

Another magazine cut. This time from the National Trust magazine.

I was really excited to be making this recipe but I was a bit disappointed in the end. It tastes good and it has potential but:

• The mid-section, the cheesy section, is too big! The recipe called for a 23cm (9in) tin and I used a 25cm (10in) tin and it came all the way to the top. How on earth is one supposed to fit so much mixture in a 23cm tin?!? It ended up being disproportionally bigger than the bottom and top sections which, frankly, wasn't aesthetic and made it fora far too rich cheesecake. Below I halved the quantities and I think that it will be more than enough.
• There wasn't enough coffee! The picture in the magazine showed a lovely brown mid-section, I got a light beige. The recipe called for 25g coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp water or 2 espresso shots. I used the 2 espresso shots and it wasn't anywhere nearly enough. Below I doubled the quantity of coffee and I hope it does the trick.
• It needs a slow and gentle oven so don't hurry it like I did! I had 2 breads waiting to go in the oven and decided to heat the oven to 150°C and hope it would cook in 1 hour. The recipe calls for 130°C and 1h15min. The cheesecake cracked completely. How disappointing...

It is a recipe with great potential but I need to bake it again with the changes below and confirm whether it will improve it or not.

Serves: 12 persons.

Ingredients:

• For the biscuit base:
• 300g digestive biscuits
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 125g butter
• For the mid-section:
• 400g cream cheese
• 125g sugar
• 2 espresso shots (or 25g coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water)
• 1 tbsp brandy
• 100ml double cream
• 2 eggs
• 25g plain flour
• Topping:
• 300ml double cream
• 50g icing sugar
• grated chocolate

Method:

1. Butter a 25cm (10in) springform tin.
   
   
   
2. Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs. Tip into a bowl and stir the cinnamon.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Melt the butter in the microwave and stir into the biscuit crumbs until the mixture sticks together.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Tip the mixture into the tin and use the back of a spoon to press it down, smoothing it until you have an even layer. Place in the fridge to chill.
   
   
   
5. Put the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and whisk them together until smooth.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Stir in the brandy and coffee.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Pour the double cream, eggs and flour and whisk until well combined and smooth.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Remove the tin from the fridge and pour the cream mixture over. Level the top with a spoon. Can you see now why a 23cm (9in) tin couldn't have possibly accommodated the amount of mixture?
   
   
   
9. Place in the oven at 130°C and cook for 1h15min, or until it still has a slight wobble in the middle and is lightly coloured and set around the edge. Let it cook slowly and gently or you'll end up with a cracked top like me!
   
   
   
10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. It really looks awful doesn't it? Luckily there is a top layer that will conceal the majority of it.
    
    
    
11. Chill overnight in the fridge.
12. Put the double cream and the icing sugar in a bowl and whisk to soft peaks.
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. Spoon in drops around the edge of the cheesecake and sprinkle over the grated chocolate. Spoon the cream from the edges to the middle and use the spoon/scraper to level.