CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE Recipes

Chocolate and strawberries – a match made in heaven! This chocolate strawberry cheesecake is my version of the fraisier cake! It’s made with rich chocolate cake layers, no-bake vanilla cheesecake dotted with fresh strawberries, and garnished with sliced strawberries. It’s topped with a simple whipped cream and more strawberries! What can be better?

The no-bake vanilla strawberry cheesecake center in this fraisier cake is simply amazing! It’s light, fluffy and packed full of juicy, fruity strawberries. I have a secret ingredient to make the cheesecake super fluffy – whole milk ricotta cheese! Mixing the lighter ricotta cheese with the denser cream cheese results in the most delicate cheesecake you’ll ever have! I use ricotta cheese for my cheese cakes in my new cookbook, ‘The European Cake Cookbook’, a lot! I also add heavy cream to the filling, which makes it even lighter and fluffier!

INGREDIENTS
For Chocolate Cake:

• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150 g) white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp (15 g) cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tsp (12 g) baking powder
• 1/3 cup (63 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

For No-Bake Cheesecake:

• 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (250 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (125 g) confectioner’s sugar
• 2 cups (475 ml) heavy cream, chilled
• 2 tbsp (19 g) unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
• 2 cups diced strawberries
• 8 to 10 extra-large strawberries, halved

For Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, chilled
• 1/3 cup (40 g) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup strawberry preserves, for filling

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the chocolate cake first; this can be done even a few days in advance. Preheat the oven to 350F and line the bottom of an 8-inch pan with parchment paper (see my note above about using a larger pan).
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix again until creamy. Combine the milk and instant coffee, then heat until the coffee dissolves and milk is warm. Pour the milk into the batter.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Mix together, then sift into the cake batter to get rid of any clumps. Using a hand whisk, mix the flour into the batter just until combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter! Gently fold in melted chocolate at the very end. Bake the batter in the prepared pan for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely, then level off the top and split the layer in half.
4. Prepare the chocolate cake for filling. Spread 1/4 cup strawberry preserves onto each layer. Place one layer into the bottom of a spring form pan and line the sides with acetate. Arrange the large, sliced strawberries along the perimeter of the pan, with the open side facing out.
5. For the cheesecake filling: place the softened cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, until the mixture is creamy and clump free. Add the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream. Mix on low speed for a minute, then increase speed and whisk until mixture is fluffy, about 2 minutes on high speed.
6. ………………………………

For full instructions please see : tatyanaseverydayfood.com