Banoffee Cheesecake

Who doesn’t love banana and caramel? It’s a veritable match made in heaven, right?

If you answered no to either of those questions, well, keep reading anyway… I’m sure you will change you’re mind if you give it a try.

A marbled velvety caramel and banana cheesecake encased in a delicate chocolate biscuit base, topped with a silky smooth caramel, fresh bananas, chocolate and vanilla cream, and crisp caramelised hazelnuts.

 

Now if you tell me you don’t like cheesecake… Well, I don’t think we can be friends.

I have included a recipe for caramel below, but you could substitute a can of carnation caramel in place of this and it will still taste amazing.

Just, maybe not as amazing…

 

My picks for this bake…

Click the image to shop the product.

 

Banoffee Cheesecake

Yield: one 8″ cheesecake

Ingredients

For the caramel

100g brown sugar
100g demera sugar
175g butter
250ml double cream
pinch of salt

For the base

50g dark chocolate
50g hazelnuts
200g shortcake biscuits
75g butter

For the cheesecake

450g cream cheese
250ml sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
40g plain flour
250g caramel (recipe above)
70g white chocolate
2 bananas (120g)

For the topping

Caramel (recipe above)
1-2 bananas, sliced
Chocolate cream (recipe below)
Vanilla cream (recipe below)
Caramelised Hazelnuts (recipe below)
Around 30g dark chocolate, grated

Chocolate Cream

100g dark chocolate
65 ml double cream
60ml sour cream
25g cream cheese

Vanilla Cream

150ml double cream
30g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g powdered sugar

Caramelised Hazelnuts

50g chopped hazelnuts
30g sugar

Method

For the caramel

Place the sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring the mixture as it melts.

Once the sugar has melted, pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Allow to bubble for a further five minutes, stirring the caramel to prevent it from catching on the bottom of the pan.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

(Image below is of the caramel after refrigeration, it will be softer than this at room temperature)

For the cheesecake base

Preheat oven to 180°C/350° F/Gas Mark 4, and line an 8″ (20 cm) springform cake tin with baking paper.

Place the biscuits, hazelnuts and chocolate into a food processor and pulse until you are left with a fine crumb. Add the butter, softened or melted, and pulse again until the mixture comes together.

Press the mixture into the base of the cake tin and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.

For the cheesecake

Reduce the oven temperature to 165°C/325° F/Gas Mark 3.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add in the eggs.

Add the sour cream and vanilla extract, whisking to combine, then sift in the flour. Set aside

Gently melt the white chocolate either over a double boiler, or in the microwave, then set aside to cool slightly. Mash the bananas.

 

Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly into two bowls, then add 250g of the cooled caramel to half of the mixture and whisk until just combined.

Add the melted white chocolate and banana to the other half of the cheesecake mixture and whisk until combined.

Pour the caramel cheesecake onto your cooled base, then gently spoon the banana and white chocolate cheesecake over the top. The two cakes will mix, this is fine, but spooning the mixture carefully (instead of pouring) will result in a marbled effect.

 

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until cheesecake is set. Turn the oven off, leaving the cake inside to cool with the door ajar.

For the caramelised hazelnuts

Place the sugar into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until it begins to melt. Add the chopped hazelnuts and continue to stir until sugar has melted completely and hazelnuts are coated.

   

Remove from heat and tip onto a piece of baking paper to cool. Once hardened, break up the hazelnut pieces and set aside.

For the chocolate cream

Gently melt the dark chocolate with 1 Tbsp of double cream, then whisk in the sour cream.

In a separate bowl, beat the remaining 50ml double cream until it begins to stiffen, then add the cream cheese and whisk briefly to combine.

 

Carefully fold the chocolate into the cream mixture until just combined. Set aside.

For the vanilla cream

Beat the double cream until it begins to thicken slightly. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and continue to beat until the cream begins to stiffen. Add the cream cheese and beat again until just combined.

Assembling the cake

Spread the remaining caramel over the top of the cheesecake, then top with sliced bananas.

Using a palette knife, spread the chocolate cream over the bananas, filling the gaps and smoothing the surface with the palette knife.

Scatter the caramelised hazelnuts over the centre of the cake, then, using the vanilla cream, pipe a border around the edges of the cake. I used a large petal tip to create the ruffle effect pictured. Top with grated chocolate, slice, and serve.

 

Enjoy… x