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Recipe: The Secret Ingredient in this Coffee Swirl Cheesecake is Instant Coffee

Coffee Swirl Cheesecake is an easy crowd-pleasing recipe for any occasion

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By House & Garden South Africa | December 13, 2023 | Recipes

cheesecake, coffee, chocolate dessert
Coffee Swirl Cheesecake is an easy crowd-pleasing recipe for any occasion. Image: Supplied.

This Coffee Swirl Cheesecake is possibly one of the best cheesecake recipes of 2023. The wonderfully rich flavour of coffee mixes with the classic savour notes of a cheesecake, all enrobed in a crumble of chocolate biscuits. The best part? The versatility of using any chocolate biscuit you prefer and ease of tapping a household staple: Instant coffee. While you can use any chocolate biscuit, we recommend any chocolate digestive-style biscuit that will mesh well with melted butter.

Also, if you don’t have a food processor at home, the cheesecake filling can be made using an electric hand mixer, while the biscuits can be placed in a large plastic bag and crushed with a rolling pin.

Here’s how to make Coffee Swirl Cheesecake:

INGREDIENTS

200g chocolate biscuits

80g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the pan

1 Tbsp instant coffee

2 tsp boiling water

500g cream cheese, room temperature

500g smooth ricotta

4 eggs, room temperature

½ cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Pinch salt

2 Tbsp plain flour

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and combine instant coffee and hot water in a small bowl, stir and set aside. Lightly butter sides and base of a 23 cm springform (removable base) tin.

2. Using a food processor, pulse biscuits to a fine texture. Add butter and pulse again until combined. Press biscuit mixture across base and 4cm up the side of the prepared tin. Place tin in refrigerator to chill, while you prepare the filling.

3. Rinse processor bowl. Add cream cheese to processor and pulse until smooth. Add ricotta and blend until well combined, scraping down the sides occasionally. Add eggs, sugar and vanilla and blend to incorporate. Add flour and pulse until just mixed through.

4. Scoop ¼ cup of the cheesecake filling into the bowl with the Douwe Egberts Ristretto Style instant coffee and stir to combine. Tip half the remaining filling onto the chilled crust and smooth the surface. Dollop half of the coffee filling over these cheesecake filing in the pan and use the end of a chopstick to gently swirl. Repeat with the rest of the cheesecake filling, followed by the rest of the coffee filling.

5. Place the cheesecake tin on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 40 - 45 minutes, until the edge of the cheesecake is puffed, and the centre is still wobbly. Turn the heat off and leave pan in oven, with the door cracked open, for a further 1 hour until the cake is fully set. Remove the cake from oven and release side of pan. Cool completely before cutting, or refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.