My passion for cheesecakes now surpasses the most incredible and never hoped-for boundaries! I love making them diverse and colorful based on the seasonal fruits available, then experimenting with the final decoration as my imagination suggests! I have developed a real passion for desserts in general and feel great satisfaction when someone, looking at them, sighs with admiration and surprise! This one I propose I believe closes the orange season. I wanted to take advantage because at the fruit and vegetable market in my neighborhood, I found a farmer who sells the fruits from his farm without the addition of pesticides. A real godsend for me! In making this wonderful spoon dessert, I chose to give a strong citrus flavor of Sicilian oranges, in contrast with the indulgence of dark chocolate! A true delight for the palate. I also take this opportunity to inform you that I have opened my new YouTube channel where I explain how to present a cheesecake at the table without the unaesthetic base of the mold in which it is usually prepared (CLICK HERE TO ACCESS IT)! I await you in large numbers and hope you like my recipe!

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium
Rest time: 5 Hours
Preparation time: 40 Minutes
Portions: 12
Cuisine: American

Ingredients for the cookie base (24 cm ø pan):

11.6 oz dry cookies (such as Digestive)
4.2 oz butter
11.6 oz cream cheese
1 cup fresh liquid cream
6 oz orange yogurt (or citrus-flavored)
4.2 oz brown sugar
1 orange juice
1 orange zest (untreated)
3 tbsp milk
0.28 oz gelatin sheets
1 cup water
3.5 oz sugar
1 orange juice
1 orange zest (untreated)
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 drops food coloring (red)
10 drops food coloring (yellow)
2.8 oz dark chocolate
5 slices orange
to taste orange zest (untreated)

Preparation:

Start preparing the base by finely chopping the cookies. Place them in a food bag, close it, and start crumbling them using a rolling pin. Alternatively, to speed up, chop them as I did inside a mixer and place them in a bowl.
Add the melted butter in a bain-marie and already cooled, mix well, pour your cookie and butter mixture into a springform pan lined with parchment paper at the base or inside an adjustable ring as I explained in the video on my YouTube channel, and level with the help of a spoon until you get a smooth and compact base.
Place in the fridge for at least 30′ or in the freezer for 15′. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese cream by soaking the gelatin sheets in a bowl with very cold water to soften them for about 10′. Separately, work the cheese with sugar using electric whisks, then also add the yogurt and the grated orange zest and continue working with the whisks.
Now incorporate the orange juice filtered with a sieve.
Squeeze the gelatin sheets and dissolve them in 3 tablespoons of hot milk. Add it to the mixture and continue to mix. Finally, whip the cream until it is firm and voluminous and add it to the cheese cream, using a spatula, with slow movements from bottom to top to avoid deflation. At this point, pour the cream thus obtained over your cookie base.
Level the cream well with the help of a spatula, giving some shakes to the mold so that air holes do not form, and put the cheesecake back in the fridge for 2 h.
After this time, prepare the topping by melting in a saucepan over low heat the water with the sugar, the orange juice, and its grated zest. Then add the sifted cornstarch and stir until the gelatine has thickened.
Turn off and add the food coloring. Let it cool down. Then pour the gelatine over the cheesecake and level it. Place in the fridge for at least another 3 h but better an entire night.
To make the decorations, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie, then temper it by slowly bringing it to a temperature between 113°F and 122°F. Let it gradually cool down, removing the saucepan from the heat and stirring vigorously until lowering the temperature to 79°F-82°F. At this point, spread the chocolate on an acetate sheet, first with a spoon, then with a smooth spatula, and finally notched to create the striped effect.
Let it cool completely, it will take about 15′, then gently peel the chocolate from the acetate sheets. Remove the ring from the mold and decorate with orange slices and chocolate decorations.
And voilà… your orange and chocolate cheesecake is ready to be enjoyed!
Enjoy from FeFe’s kitchen!