Coconut Cheesecake

Firstly, I would like to say how sorry I am for missing my last post, I have been very busy and quite sick and everything just seemed to pile on top of each other. My post next time will be extra special fantastic! With a lot more drawings, I promise. But, onto the product!

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There is a funny story about this Cheesecake. It was my birthday a month or more ago, and my Uncle’s a few days after. For months before, my Aunt was asking and asking what kind of cake we would like, and we settled on a lemon ricotta cheesecake. As she was gathering the ingredients, she found this recipe on the side of the Condensed milk tin. It was never made in time for our birthdays, but it still tasted great!

A time before we begin, take your cream cheese out of the fridge, so it can be nice and soft for mixing.

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Toasted Coconut Cheesecake

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This cheesecake was devoured so quickly that I never got the chance to take a picture! Click the picture to take you back to the owner of this lovely product.

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Base

185g crushed Nice biscuits

½ cup toasted coconut

90g melted butter

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Filling

500g cream cheese

395g can of sweetened condensed milk

½ cup coconut milk powder

2tbsp warm water

1tsp vanilla extract

300ml carton of cream

1tbsp gelatine, dissolved in ¼ cup of boiling water.

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Before doing anything else, you should prepare your tin. Spray with oil, paper around the sides and on the bottom of the tin, and you’re good to go!

Now, you should prepare the base first, since it has to chill for about an hour in your fridge. Everyone has their way of preparing the biscuits, and personally, I use a rolling pin, but my aunt favours the food processor, so which ever way you please, turn the biscuits into a nice, fine crumb.

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Melt your butter, and mix it into the biscuit to make it a wet-sand like consistency, and press it into the base of your prepared tin. Nice and smoooth looking. Awesome! Now pop this into the fridge while you make the filling. We need it nice and cold and firm so there are no leaks.

We now need to toast the coconut so that it has time to cool down before we top the cheesecake. We toasted the coconut in a pan, which was a first for me, I usually do mine spread thin on a tray in the oven. So, which ever you prefer, make sure the coconut is a nice even golden colour, and set aside to cool down.

It’s time to get out your mixer, hand held or bench top, and soften the cream cheese. We want it smooth and soft, and lump free. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a scraper, and open your can of condensed milk.

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I used to work a lot with condensed milk! Imagine a twenty five kilo liver full of it, ready to be used in Florentines and coconut macaroons. I used to mix them with my bare hands! Clean of course.

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With the mixer running, stream your condensed milk into the mixer. You will end up with a smooth, pale yellow mixture. It’s time to scrape down the bowl again!

To give the cheesecake a nice, milk, coconut flavour, we used coconut milk powder. To give you an idea of what it looks like, take a look at the picture below.

Our powder was rather lumpy, so we sifted it into a bowl before adding the warm water, and what we ended up with is a thick, smooth paste. Scrap this out into the cream cheese mixture, and turn the mixer on again. This time, stream your cream into the mix. Nice and smooth again!

Now for the quick part. Gelatine does not wait for time or person, so clean down your bench, clear away the dirty dishes, and take your tin out of the fridge, ready to pour in the mixture.

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Weigh up the gelatine into a bowl, and pour over your hot water. Quickly, with a small whisk or a spoon, dissolve the powder and transfer quickly into the cheese mixture. Stir it in, and using a scraper, empty the filling into the lined tin. Give the tin a tap to even out the top.

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The recipe said to coat the top of the cheesecake in coconut AFTER it was set, but that didn’t make a lot of sense. Surely we want the coconut to stick to the top? So, using a spoon, completely cover the top of your cheesecake with toasted coconut, and pop into the fridge to set.

My advice would be to let this cheesecake set overnight before you slice into this baby. When you do, use a hot knife, by running your knife under hot water and drying with a cloth. Cut into slices, and enjoy!

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I find this cheesecake rather light, it is not thick and dense like other set cheesecakes, and has just the right coconut flavour without being overbearing. So everyone, try out this recipe and tell me what you think! This is a recipe from the side of a Nestle: Sweetened Condensed Milk can, and its a good recipe at that. I’ve made quite a few recipes from the Nestle site, and if you’re ever stuck to find a recipe, its a good site to have bookmarked!

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So that was the coconut cheesecake, Happy Hula-ing everybody, and see you next time!