Rachel shares the recipe for her mouth-watering Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from her show Rachel Allen’s Everyday Kitchen

Ingredients

  • For the double chocolate chip cookies
  • makes 20 large cookies
  • 225 g (8oz) butter, softened
  • 325 g (111/2oz) caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 225 g (8oz) plain flour
  • 75 g (3oz) cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 175 g (6oz) dark chocolate (55ā€“70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces, or dark chocolate chips
  • For the cheesecake
  • 15 g (1/2oz) cocoa powder, sifted
  • 25 ml (1fl oz) strong coffee, such as espresso
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 500 g (1lb 2oz) mascarpone
  • 400 ml (14fl oz) double or regular cream
  • 50 g (2oz) icing sugar
  • 50 g (2oz) dark chocolate (55ā€“75% cocoa solids), grated, for sprinkling
  • 9-12 of the double chocolate chip cookies
  • 23cm (9in) diameter spring-form cake tin

Method

  • Place the butter in a large bowl and beat until very soft. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Crack in one egg at a time, beating between each addition, then add the vanilla extract. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, then add the chocolate pieces/chips and fold in to combine. Alternatively, place all the ingredients except the chocolate pieces/chips in a food processor and whiz briefly until they come together, then fold in the chocolate.
  • With wet hands, form the dough into balls each the size of a golf ball (or use two soup spoons to scoop up and shape the same amount of dough). Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, placing 6ā€“7 balls of dough on each sheet and leaving space for the cookies to spread.
  • Bake for 10ā€“14 minutes or until the cookies look slightly cracked on top. (With three baking sheets, you will need to cook them in three batches, or two batches in a fan oven.) Take out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove from the baking sheets using a palette knife or metal fish slice and place on a wire rack to cool down completely.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, coffee, vanilla extract, mascarpone, cream and icing sugar for 1ā€“2 minutes or until thick.
  • Arrange one-third (3ā€“4) of the cookies in the bottom of the cake tin, then spread over one-third of the chocolate cream mixture. Add a second layer of cookies, then another layer of chocolate cream, followed by a final layer of cookies and a final layer of chocolate cream.
  • Use a spatula to smooth the top layer of chocolate cream, then cover the tin with cling film and place in the fridge to chill for eight hours or overnight.
  • To remove the cheesecake from the cake tin, run a small, sharp knife around the cheesecake to loosen the edges, then unfasten the clip and lift away the sides of the tin. Using a palette knife or a metal fish slice, loosen the cheesecake from the base of the tin and carefully slide off onto a plate. Sprinkle with the grated chocolate to serve.