Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake is my newest addition to the GD-friendly, no-bake cheesecakes for Christmas 2022. If Terry’s Chocolate Orange is something that makes your Christmas, then you have to make this treat!
It’s really easy to make, and although a food processor to grind the biscuits and a hand whisk is helpful to whip the cream, you can just do this by hand, meaning no special equipment is needed. You don’t even need a loose-bottom cake tin like I have used here, as you can make this cheesecake in any baking dish, bowl or just in ramekins.
The amount of cream cheese and cream in this cheesecake easily pairs the carbs from the chocolate and biscuit base.
You don’t need added sugar or sweetener in this recipe because the chocolate orange is sweet enough to work its magic alongside some extra cocoa and orange extract.
In this recipe, I use Nairn’s chocolate orange oat biscuits for the biscuit base. I live in Scotland, so it is a bit easier for me to find these Scottish biscuits; however, Nairn’s are often available in larger supermarkets and discount stores such as Aldi, Lidl, B&M, Home Bargains and Poundland. If you can’t find this flavour, any of the other Nairn’s oat biscuits or Nairn’s gluten-free biscuit breaks can be used instead. Failing this, normal digestives can be used as a substitute too.
I use orange extract in the cheesecake filling and in the whipped orange-flavoured cream. This really helps to intensify the orange flavour in the cheesecake; however, if you can’t find this, you could substitute with lots more orange zest mixed through instead.
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Equipment
- 20cm spring form or loose-bottom cake pan
- Electric whisk or stand mixer makes this easier! (But you can whisk by hand if you don't have these)
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
For the cheesecake base
- 200 grams Nairns chocolate orange oat biscuits (or another flavour of Nairns oat biscuits, or digestives)
- 60 grams butter melted
For the cheesecake filling
- 400 grams cream cheese
- 250 grams mascarpone
- 300 ml double cream
- 157 grams Terry's chocolate orange (1 x chocolate orange, I used ½ a dark choc orange and ½ a milk choc orange)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp orange extract
For chocolate orange ganache
- 100 grams Terry's dark chocolate orange
- 150 ml double cream
For orange whipped cream
- 150 ml double cream
- 1 tsp orange extract
For the cheesecake decoration
- 8 segments Terry's chocolate orange
- 1 medium orange zest only
Instructions
- Start by lifting the cream cheese, mascarpone and double cream out of the fridge to warm up slightly whilst making the biscuit base
For the Cheesecake Base
- To create a large stand-alone cheesecake, line the base of a 20cm springform (loose-bottom) cake pan with baking paper
- Crush or blitz the biscuits to a fine crumb, then pour over the melted butter. Stir to coat the biscuit crumb to create a 'sand-like' texture
- Press the biscuit crumb into the pan and level to ensure the base is an even thicknessNOTE: Do not press too hard, otherwise the base will become too solid after cooling. It should just hold togetherThen place the base into the refrigerator to cool whilst preparing the cheesecake filling
For the Cheesecake Filling
- Gently heat the chocolate orange segments in a bowl over hot water, or in short bursts in a microwave, until fully melted and glossy, then set aside to cool
- Pour the double cream into a separate bowl and whisk until it thickens to soft peaks (do not over-whisk or the cream will split. This is much easier to control by using a hand whisk, but does take a little time and lots of whisking!), then set aside
- Add the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese to a large bowl and mix by hand until smooth
- Pour the cooled melted chocolate into the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese and whisk until smoothNOTE: The chocolate will firm up when being added to cheese mix as it cools, this creates a chocolate orange chip throughout the cheesecake which is delicious. The more you whisk, the smoother the chocolate orange will be
- Sieve the cocoa powder into the cheese mixture and pour in the orange extract and whisk well
- Add the double cream to the cheese mix and fold through until fully combined
- Spread the cheesecake filling over the biscuit base and spread out evenly. Drop the pan a couple of times to ensure the filling covers any gaps and any bubbles/pockets of air rise to the surface
- Place the cheesecake back into the fridge whilst making the ganache and whipped cream for decoration
For the chocolate ganache decoration
- Add chocolate orange segments and double cream to a pan on medium heat, stir until the chocolate melts and creates a thick chocolate sauce
- Pour the chocolate into a bowl or jug and place in the fridge to cool so that it firms up enough to pipe
For the orange whipped cream
- Pour double cream and orange extract into a bowl and whisk until it thickens to a pipeable consistency
To decorate the cheesecake
- Pipe alternating chocolate ganache and orange cream swirls onto the cheesecake. Top with segments of Terry's chocolate orange (I alternated with dark and milk chocolate orange segments)
- Grate a chocolate orange segment over the top of the cheesecake, then finish with the orange zest