No-Bake Black Forest Cheesecake!

Biscuit Base, Chocolate & Cherry Kirsch Cheesecake Filling, Vanilla Cheesecake, Fresh Cherries & even more Chocolate. The BEST Black Forest Cheesecake ever!

Soooo Christmas 2016 is upon us… its less than two weeks away. TWO WEEKS. And I am buzzing. I adore Christmas; the lights, the food, the TV, the food, the family get togethers, the food, and the all round general happiness. But yeah, as you can tell, I LOVE the food so much more than normal food! Also, Christmas is a great excuse to bake! As you guys have already seen, I have posted a few already for this year, and I have many for last year such as my No-Bake Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake and Christmas Tree Brownies, so you aren’t short of Christmas Inspiration on my blog!

When I was trawling Pinterest for Christmas bakes and inspiration, there was ‘Black Forest’ things eeezverywhere. My Boyfriends Mum made the Paul Hollywood Black Forest Trifle for Christmas a couple of years ago, and that was actually surprisingly delicious and good, and after asking my own Mum how good Black Forest stuff was, I knew something Black Forest had to happen.

I won’t lie, Black Forest stuff isn’t my favourite, because for me Chocolate Orange anything beats it, so I was still a little unsure of using it to create something slightly different. My family and I bought a Black Forest Gateau in Switzerland about 10 years ago (Still doesn’t beat Terry’s.) but it was truly amazing but as that was so long ago, I hadn’t had it for a while so I was a little dubious about experimenting. However, now in Cheesecake form, the Black Forest flavour combination is genuinely up with one of my favourites now. (YES THAT’S RIGHT, CHEESECAKE. I mean come on, Christmas Cheesecakes like my No-Bake Baileys Cheesecake are just the best.)

The combination of a Digestive Biscuit Base, with a Cheesecake filling made with Chocolate Cheesecake, Kirsch soaked Cherries, and even more Kirsch is BEAUTIFUL. Adding a Vanilla Cheesecake to the top instead of Whipped Cream was just me trying to do something a little different, and I loved it. Topping that with some Fresh Cherries, Chocolate Curls and a Kirsch/Cherry Reduction drizzle was ooooohmygolly Black Forest heaven. If you have any questions about the recipe leave a comment below! Enjoy!

This serves 12+!

Ingredients

Biscuit Base
– 300g Digestives
– 150g Unsalted Butter/Stork

Cheesecake Filling
– 2x280g Philadelphia Full-Fat Cream Cheese
– 100g Icing Sugar
– 300ml Double Cream
– 100g Milk Chocolate, chopped
– 100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
– 1x Jar of Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch
– 1-2tbsps Kirsch

To Decorate – Optional
– 180g Philadelphia Full Fat Cream Cheese
– 100ml Double Cream
– 75g Icing Sugar
– 1tsp Vanilla Extract
– Chocolate Curls
– Spare Kirsch liquid from Cherry Jar
– Fresh Cherries

Method

1) To make the Cheesecake Base – melt the butter in the microwave on short bursts on in a small pan over a medium heat until smooth. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor to a small crumb, add the melted butter, and pulse a few times until it is combined well. Tip into a 8″/20cm Deep Springform Tin and press down firmly – chill in the refrigerator whilst you do the rest!

2) To make the Cheesecake Filling – Drain the Cherries in Kirsch from the liquid and separate the two. I pour the kirsch liquid back into the jar and refrigerate for now. In a separate bowl, melt the two chocolates together in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring gently or microwave in short bursts until fully melted – leave to cool slightly whilst doing the rest.

3) With an electric mixer (I used my KitchenAid) Whisk the Cream Cheese and Icing sugar until combined. Add in the slightly cooled melted chocolate and whisk till smooth. Pour in the liquid double cream and continue to whip the cheesecake until it is starting to thicken a lot like a Mousse does (I use speed 6/10 on my KitchenAid)

4) Once done, it will hold it self completely when finished whipping. Add the drained cherries to the mixture, along with one tablespoon of kirsch, and fold together. If you like, add another tablespoon of kirsch and fold through again!

5) Pour the mix on to the biscuit base and smooth over. In a separate bowl, whip together the 180g Cream Cheese, 100ml cream, icing sugar and vanilla until thickened. Pipe rosettes around the edge of the cheesecake (like pictured) and add a fresh cherry to each. Add any spare cherries into the middle of the hole in the middle! Cover the cheesecake, and chill in the fridge for at least 5-6 hours or preferably overnight.

6) To decorate the Cheesecake –Remove the cheesecake from the tin, I use a thin metal spatula to lift mine off the base in one piece. In a pan, add the liquid from the Cherries in Kirsch Jar and boil, continue to boil for a few minutes so the liquid reduces down to a thicker syrup. Cool the liquid and drizzle over the cheesecake. Sprinkle over some Chocolate Curls, and huzzaaaaah, you’re done!

NOTE

If it looks like your cheesecake isn’t setting, or its a but sloppy, or you’re even not sure.. try it anyway. Try to set the mix anyway! If it still doesn’t set, freeze it and have an Ice Cream Cheesecake!

Tips and Ideas

I recommend using a 8″/20cm Deep Springform Tin in this recipe!

I always set my cheesecakes in the fridge overnight otherwise they risk being a little runny still and slipping off the biscuit base but if you want to risk it then go for it!

When reducing the Kirsch liquid down to drizzle on the cheesecake, be careful not to over reduce as it’ll almost turn to a caramel and go solid. I reduce my liquid to about 1/4 of the original amount by letting it boil constantly for a few minutes.

I used the Opies Black Cherries in Kirsch as the cherries are pitted, and they’re soaked in kirsch to suit the ‘Black Forest’ theme. If you want an alcohol free version, use a ‘Cherry Filling‘ jar, or even Black Cherry Jam!

Also, you can drizzle the cheesecake with melted chocolate, cherry jam, or beaten down Cherry Filling instead of the spare Cherry Kirsch liquid if you wished! And you can easily just use Whipped Cream on top instead of the Vanilla Cheesecake but that’s up to you!

This Cheesecake will last covered in the fridge for 3 days!

ENJOY!

Find my other Christmas & Cheesecake Recipes on my Recipes Page!

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J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.