Peppermint Crisp Cheesecake

Nathan is my sister Bec's boyfriend. For anyone who ever watched The OC, his situation is reminiscent of the character Ryan. Kel (yes, another awesome chick named Kel) is in social work, and she took Nathan in to live with her, her husband and their two young kids. What a wonderful woman!

It was Kel's birthday earlier this week so Bec asked me to make Kel mach 2 a cheesecake. Peppermint Crisp is her favourite, so I concocted this recipe for her.

Apologies for the terrible picture but my camera has been playing up of late.

Kel's Peppermint Cheesecake

1 pkt Arnott's Chocolate Ripple biscuits (or any chocolate cookie)

90g butter, melted

2 x 250g blocks Philly cheese, at room temperature

1 can condensed milk

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp peppermint essence

3 Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars

2 tsp gelatine dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water

Ganache (optional)

100g dark chocolate

75ml thickened cream

Put the biscuits through your food processor and add the butter. Mix until well combined and turn out into a springform pan. Using the back of a spoon, push the mixture over the base of the pan until it is evenly spread and tightly packed. Refrigerate until chilled.

Using an electric mixer, beat Philly, condensed milk, essence, gelatine and lemon juice until smooth. Break up two of the Peppermint Crisps and gently fold through mixture until evenly mixed through. Spread mixture into prepared springform pan and chill.

Break up remaining Peppermint Crisp bar to decorate. I also used some dark chocolate ganache to decorate the top of the cheesecake. Simply heat cream in small saucepan, then gradually add chocolate and stir until smooth. Chill in fridge until set.

This cheesecake received rave reviews from everyone - not bad for a recipe I knocked together on the spot eh? Hehe.