Totally Decadent Mars Bar Cheesecake

With the only other adult in our house being Type 1 diabetic, it's not often that I make the effort to bake sweet things. But this one, I just couldn't resist. I have not tried making cheesecake before, but this one was so easy that I am now afraid that I might become addicted.... at least I have an excuse, while I am pregnant!

Mars Bar Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 cups chocolate biscuit crumbs (approx 15 chocolate cookies)

5 tablespoons butter, melted

500 grams cream cheese

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup thickened cream

3 level teaspoons gelatine, dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water

2 large Mars bars, chopped as fine as you want

Method - Base

Place 15 chocolate cookies in a large zip-lock bag and seal. Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or anything that will whack them down firmly (feel the stress relief already!). Measure to make sure you have 2 cups of crumbs and place in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and mix well. Press crumb mixture into the base of a greased springform pan. I found this quantity just covered my large pan - if you have a smaller pan, it will make a thick base and you may want to adjust quantity accordingly. Or you may like thick layers of crumbled choc cookies... mmmmm. Put the pan in the fridge while you mix the filling.

Method - Filling

Chop Mars bars and set aside. Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add caster sugar and cream, beat all together and set aside. Sprinkle gelatine onto hot water and stir gently until almost dissolved. Stir gelatine mix into cream cheese mix, making sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined (no lumps). Gently stir in the chopped Mars bars. Pour the filling onto the crumb crust, in the springform pan. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

When set, run a knife around edge of the tine and unclip the springform tin. Decorate with whipped cream, or grated Mars bars/choc biscuits. Anything you want, really!

Of course, you can change it up by substituting honeycomb, cherry ripe, or your favourite fruit, instead of the Mars bars.

Great sauce recipe

Last night I cooked pork chops, but was trying to think of a quick and easy way to jazz them up a bit. I threw the following ingredients into the frypan, after cooking the chops and draining off the grease (but be sure to leave the yummy browning stuff in the bottom):

A good dollop of cream
2 tsps crushed garlic
A shake of dried rosemary leaves
Fresh garlic chives, snipped up with scissors

Stir together and let it simmer on very low for a few minutes, soaking up the meaty bits in the bottom of the pan. This made enough for generous pour-over servings on 2 adult dinners.

I had intended to put some seeded mustard in as well, but didn't have any in the fridge. It was just as delicious without it. I think this would go well on any meat - steak, pork, chicken, even fish or prawns. And it was literally conceived and made in 5 minutes, from ingredients in the condiments shelf of my pantry and fridge.

Do you have a special sauce, or something quick that you use to jazz up otherwise plain meals? Please share it with me - leave a link to your site in the comments!