Mocha Brownie Cheesecake

I kind of made this one up; it ended up being pretty good. All I did was mix a few recipes together, no real improvisation here.

I used my new favorite recipe, Cappuccino Brownies, from The Essential Dessert Cookbook. The cheesecake part is from Women's Weekly Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, Cookies cookbook, except I simplified it. Then I added chocolate covered coffee beans on top.

Method:
1. Make cappuccino brownies (recipe here) and cool. I baked these in a round cake tin, and then transferred it to a spring form pan once it cooled. I had extra brownie mix (I didn't want the base too thick on the cake), so I baked the left overs in a small cupcake tin.
2. Make Cheesecake (recipe below), and add on top of cooled brownie base.
3. Make chocolate covered coffee beans (instructions here). Or buy them. But making them is SO easy, and cheap. Granted, they are not quite so pretty as the ones from Starbucks, but they do the trick :) Sprinkle some on top before serving.


Tips:
I lined the base of the springform with baking paper so I could slide the cake off for serving. I also lined the sides so the cheesecake wouldn't stick to the pan. This worked really well.

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Tiramisu Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 tsp gelatin
2 tbsp water
125g cream cheese (about 4.4 oz, no huge need to be that accurate)
1/4 cup icing sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp Marsala (I used Kahlua, since it's all I had on hand)
300mL cream, whipped

Method:
1.Sprinkle gelatin over water in small heatproof bowl, or double boiler. Stand in a small pan of simmering water and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Cool for a few minutes.
2. Soften cream cheese to room temperature and add icing sugar in a bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric mixer.
3. Add mascarpone and Marsala (Kahlua) and beat until combined.
4. Stir in gelatin mixture.
5. Fold in whipped cream

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Now, for the cutest little mini versions!

Like I said, I had left over batter, so I decided to try some bite sized cheesecakes (of course, my inspiration for mini desserts comes from Bakerella).

"Ingredients":
Brownie mixture
Cheescake mixture
Choc covered coffee beans
baking paper
tape
mini cupcake tin & liners

Method:
1. Line mini cupcake tin with liners, and put a small spoonful into each liner. Bake as per recipe, but for less time.
2. Allow brownies to cool. Take off paper liners.
3. Cut small strips of baking paper, or waxed paper, about 2 or 3 times the height of the brownies.
4.This can be the frustrating part: form tubes around each brownie and tape closed. I rolled my mini brownies on the paper, as if I was wrapping a present. I had tape pre-cut so I could quickly secure the paper.
5. Stand brownies on a plate, etc, and pipe or spoon cheesecake mixture into the tubes.
6. Chill and top with coffee beans. Unwrap baking paper, and enjoy :)