Chocolate Cheesecake

My father uses to tell me really often that the only thing I should invest in my life are friendships. It is something to take care of and grow all lifelong. And yes... I am trying to follow his advice. Ten years ago I had to start everything from scratch and nowadays I am really happy with what I built. I have great people around me. Anyway I am really happy when somebody new comes in my life. This weekend we had guests for dinner... really nice time around a table. Some old, already confirmed recipes and one new... chocolate cheesecake. Great talk around the desk and time flew.
But I am sure of one thing... this creamy chocolate sin announced 2 new friendships, 2 new lovely friends entered my life *smile*

*The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

for the base:
200g digestive biscuits
2 tbs cocoa powder
150g unsalted butter, melted

for the filling:
900g cream cheese
190g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) gas 2. For the base, roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put them in a food processor with the cocoa powder. Process until finely ground. Slowly pour the melted butter into the processor while the motor is running. Press this mixture into the base of the prepared cake tin. Refrigerate while you make the topping.
Put the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract in a electric mixer and beat on slow speed until you get a very smooth, thick mixture. Add one egg at a time while still mixing. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water . Leave until melted and smooth. Spoon a little of the cream cheese mixture into the melted chocolate, stir to mix, then add a little more. Eventually stir all the cream cheese mixture into the chocolate mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
Spoon the mixture onto the cold cheesecake base. Put the tin inside a larger tin or in a deep baking tray and fill with water until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the cake tin. Bake for 40-50 minutes, checking regularly after 40 minutes to make sure it isn't burning. Leave the cheesecake to cool slightly in the tin, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.

*****

O meu pai costuma dizer-me regularmente que a única coisa que devo investir na minha vida é nas amizades. É algo para cuidar e fazer crescer ao longo da vida. E sim... tento seguir o seu conselho. Há dez anos tive que começar tudo do zero e hoje estou bastante contente com o que construi. Estou rodeada por grandes pessoas. De qualquer forma fico muito contente quando alguém novo entra na minha vida. Este fim-de-semana tivemos convidados para o jantar... foi muito bom o tempo passado à mesa. Algumas receitas antigas, já confirmadas e uma nova... cheesecake de chocolate. Óptimas conversas em torno da mesa e o tempo voou.
Mas tenho a certeza de uma coisa... este pecado cremoso de chocolate anunciou 2 novas amizades, 2 novos amigos queridos entraram na minha vida *smile*