Creme de Menthe Cheesecake Slice

I love using liqueurs in my cooking and I particularly like mint flavours. This Creme de Menthe cheesecake slice has a Tim Tam biscuit base and a Creme de Menthe jelly topping. The Tefal Cuisine Companion has helped me prepare the biscuit base and the cheesecake filling. The jelly topping can also be made in the Cuisine Companion but I found it easier to mix the ingredients in a glass bowl. I've used Tim Tam biscuits but you can substitute with any biscuit you desire.

Note: I used the Mini Bowl to crush the biscuits but you can use the Kneading Blade inserted in the Cuisine Companion to pulse the biscuits until finely crushed then add melted butter and select Speed 6 until combined.

Biscuit Base

Line a 30 x 20 cm slice tin with baking paper extending the paper over the long sides of tin to help remove slice when ready.

330 gms Tim Tam Biscuits or biscuits of choice

50 gms Butter Melted

Place half the biscuits in Mini Bowl and pulse until crushed . Remove crushed biscuits to separate bowl, repeat with remaining biscuits and add melted butter stirring with metal spoon until combined.

Press the biscuit mixture into prepared tin and refrigerate.

Cheesecake Mixture

70 gms Creme de Menthe
10 gms gelatine powder
250 gms cream cheese
395gm condensed milk
300 mls thickened cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint essence or to taste (optional)

Pour Creme de Menthe into a small heatproof bowl, microwave on medium high until boiling (this will only take a few seconds) remove from microwave and start stirring vigorously with fork, add gelatine quickly and keep stirring until gelatine dissolves. Set aside stirring regularly until cooled to room temperature. If the mixture starts to thicken, microwave for a few seconds on low setting until liquid and stir until room temperature again.

Insert Kneading Blade
Add cream cheese, Speed 11 until smooth, scraping down sides with spatula every 10 seconds.
Add condensed milk, Speed 10 until fully combined, scraping down sides and around blade with spatula every 10 seconds.
Insert Whisk.
Add cream.
Speed 7 for 1 min 30 sec or until mixture thickens, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula every 20 seconds.
Add combined Creme de Menthe and gelatine mixture.
Speed 6 for 15 seconds.
Taste and add peppermint essence if using,
Speed 6 for 5 seconds
Remove whisk, give a light stir with spatula and pour onto biscuit base.
Refrigerate until set.

Jelly Layer

285 gms Boiling Water

25 gms Caster Sugar 

15 gms Gelatine 

130 gms Creme de Menthe 

Place boiling water into heatproof bowl. Add sugar and stir with metal spoon until dissolved.

Stir water and dissolved sugar vigorously with fork, add gelatine and continue to stir until combined.

Strain mixture through fine wire mesh sieve into heatproof jug or bowl. Add Creme de Menthe and stir to combine. Refrigerate 45 minutes or until jelly thickens slightly and pour over cheesecake layer.

Refrigerate 2-3 hours until set.

Decorate as desired.

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

I love anything that's chocolate and mint flavoured. I especially love using Creme de Menthe because it imparts a delicate mint flavour and a gorgeous colour to anything I make. I find the Tefal Cuisine Companion perfect for making cheesecakes, you can make the cream cheese (recipe can be found by typing cream cheese in the search function) and the chocolate biscuits for this cheesecake as well as crushing the biscuits and mixing the cheesecake mixture in your Tefal Cuisine Companion.

Note: You can add some peppermint essence if you prefer a stronger mint taste.
Note: After combining Creme de Menthe and gelatine keep stirring regurlarly to prevent mixture    from setting. You can place in microwave on low setting for a few seconds if it starts to set and stir until it's at room temperature before adding to cheesecake mixture.

Biscuit base

150 gms Plain Chocolate Biscuits
75 gms Dark Chocolate, melted (I melted in microwave)
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil (I used Canola oil)
Insert Ultrablade. Stopper in.
Crush biscuits using pulse button until done with internal steam basket inserted.
Place biscuit crumbs in separate bowl, add melted chocolate and oil, stir to combine.
Press into base of  20cm springform cake tin (you may not use all the crumb mixture, it depends on how thick you like your biscuit base) and refrigerate.

Cheesecake layer:

70 gms Creme de Menthe
10 gms gelatine powder
250 gms cream cheese softened
395gm condensed milk
300 mls thickened cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint essence or to taste (optional)
Pour Creme de Menthe into a small heatproof bowl, microwave on medium high until boiling (this will only take a few seconds) remove from microwave and start stirring vigorously with fork, add gelatine quickly and keep stirring until gelatine dissolves. Set aside stirring regularly until cooled to room temperature.
Insert Kneading Blade
Add cream cheese, Speed 11 until smooth, scraping down sides with spatula every 10 seconds.
Add condensed milk, Speed 10 until fully combined, scraping down sides and around blade with spatula every 10 seconds.
Insert Whisk.
Add cream.
Speed 7 for 1 min 30 sec or until mixture thickens, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula every 20 seconds.
Add combined Creme de Menthe and gelatine mixture.
Speed 6 for 15 seconds.
Taste and add peppermint essence if using,
Speed 6 for 5 seconds
Remove whisk, give a light stir with spatula and pour onto biscuit base.
Refrigerate until set.

Decorate as desired.

Ermine Frosting 

I hate sickly sweet and grainy frostings so I searched through old cook books and found references to a roux frosting. After many hours trialling I have finally converted this amazing frosting to be made simply in the Tefal Cuisine Companion.  It is not overly sweet, perfectly smooth and pipes beautifully




230 gms milk
40 gms plain flour
200 gms caster sugar
230 gms unsalted butter softened and diced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Gel food colouring (I use Americolor gel colours)

Roux

Insert Whisk. Stopper in.
Add milk, plain flour and caster sugar to bowl
Speed 7:1 minute
Stopper out.
Speed 4:95 deg: 3mins 15sec or until mixture thickens (time will depend on temperature of your milk). Scrape bowl with spatula as necessary.
Empty roux into heatproof bowl and cover with cling wrap pressing cling wrap onto surface to prevent skin from forming. Cool to room temperature

Frosting

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper out.
Add softened butter and vanilla extract. Speed 10:30sec-1 minute or until butter is smooth and creamy, scraping bowl as necessary.  Time will depend on how soft the butter is.
Insert Whisk. Stopper out.
Add 1/3 room temperature roux . Speed 7:10 seconds. Repeat twice scraping bowl as necessary.
(If frosting appears lumpy insert Ultrablade Speed 10:1min or until smooth).
Add gel colour Speed 7:10sec.
Alternatively empty frosting into separate bowls and colour each separately stirring with spatula. Frosting may have to be refrigerated for a few minutes before piping.

Creme de Menthe Ermine frosting 

To make a delicious minty version of the ermine frosting above just add 60 gms Creme de Menthe and only use 170 gms of milk. Proceed as above adding the Creme de Menthe with the milk, flour and caster sugar. Omit the vanilla extract.