Rum and Coconut Cheesecake

Written by Rolf

My girlfriend had the recipe for a wonderful red fruit cheesecake. I wondered if I could successfully make a tropical variation on it, using rum and coconut. I could, the cake was lovely and I am now sharing the recipe with the world.

Ingredients

- 75 gr butter
- 200 gr chocolate chip or dipped cookies
- 120 gr sugar
- 200 gr mascarpone
- 200 gr whipped cream
- 150 ml brown rum
- 150 ml coconut milk or cream
- 200 ml tropical fruit juice
- 40 ml lemon juice (or the juice of 1 lemon)
- 8 sheets of gelatine
- white chocolate bar
- dark chocolate bar

Recipe

1. Melt the butter, crumble the cookies in it and mix it in or with a blender. I used my ever so handy immersion blender. My blender has a whisk utensil so I can also use it to whip cream. Grease up the sides of the springform pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper. You could also just grease the bottom up as well, but I find the paper more convenient to help cut the cake and lift the slices. Divide the cookie/butter mix evenly over the bottom and put this in the fridge.

2. Have the gelatin sheets soaking in a bowl with cold water. Mix the mascarpone with the rum, the coconut milk and 100 grams of the sugar. Whip the cream if you haven't done so yet and add it to the mascarpone. Stir until you have a nice mass. Heat up half of the lemon juice (15 seconds in the microwave will do it) and dissolve 6 sheets of the gelatine in it. Stir the juice through the mascarpone. Pour this mixture on the cookie bottom of the cake and put back in the fridge.

If the mascarpone mix is rather liquid, have it set in the fridge for about half an hour or until you think you can safely pour juice on it without it messing up the mascarpone layer.

3. Heat up the other half of the lemon juice, dissolve the remaining 2 sheets of gelatin and mix it with the fruit juice and remaining sugar. Gently pour the juice over the mascarpone layer and make sure it is divided evenly. Put the cake back in the fridge for about half an hour. It should be setting but still sticky.

4. Grate the dark and white chocolate until you have a few spoonfuls. You probably need about 20 grams of each. Scatter the flakes randomly but evenly over the juice layer and put it back in the fridge for at least an hour or two.

The cake is done. If you cut it in 8 pieces, there's about 450 calories per slice. There's also half a shot glass of rum in it, so alcohol-wise you should still be safe to drive after 2 slices. Any more and you are risking your and other people's lives. Don't drink and drive!