Ingredients
| 500g cream cheese, at room temperature | |
| 250g dark chocolate (45-55% cocoa solids), melted | |
| 165g caster sugar | |
| â…› teaspoon fine sea salt | |
| 3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste | |
| 4 eggs | |
| 200g sour cream | |
| 2 tablespoons Dutch-process (unsweetened) cocoa powder, plus extra to dust (optional) | |
| 1 tablespoon gluten-free cornflour |
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Instructions
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 210°C fan-forced and line two 6-hole large muffin tins (with 180ml capacity holes) with paper muffin wrappers. |
| 2. | You need the tulip-shaped wrappers that extend up above the top of the tins (or make your own using squares of baking paper), as the cheesecakes will rise quite a bit while cooking. |
| 3. | Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix until smooth. |
| 4. | Add the warm melted chocolate and mix on low speed until combined. |
| 5. | Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the sugar, salt and vanilla, mixing again until smooth. |
| 6. | Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition. |
| 7. | In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream until smooth. |
| 8. | Sift in the cocoa and cornflour and mix again until smooth. |
| 9. | Add this to the cream cheese and chocolate mixture and mix on low speed, scraping down the side of the bowl once or twice, until smooth. |
| 10. | Strain the batter through a sieve into a large jug, discarding any lumps, then divide evenly among the prepared muffin cups. |
| 11. | Tap the tins gently on the bench a few times to remove any large air bubbles. |
| 12. | Bake in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes or until the surfaces of the cakes are set and starting to crack, but they are still wobbly in the middle. |
| 13. | They cook further as they cool, and it’s better to err on the side of undercooked rather than overcooked with such small cakes. |
| 14. | Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the tins before serving, or place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight to chill. |
| 15. | Dust with extra cocoa just before serving, if you like. |
| 16. | Return to room temperature before serving if you like a creamy, soft cheesecake, or serve cold, straight from the fridge if you prefer something a little more dense. |
This is an edited
extract from Handfuls
of Sunshine by Tilly
Pamment. Published
by Murdoch Books,
$45. Photography,
recipes and styling
by Tilly Pamment.