Milo Cheesecake with Chocolate Crackle Crust

You guys, we need to talk about this cheesecake. It might not look like much, it's brown and kinda rough around the edges. But OH MY GOD it tastes amazing. It's like a party in your mouth. I'm pretty chuffed with myself for making this. It seemed like a pretty simple flavour combo; I wanted something with an Australian twist to it since Australia Day is coming up very soon, so I decided to make a Milo Cheesecake with chocolate crackles for the base.

For those of you outside Australia, chocolate crackles might mean something different to you. I know they sometimes refer to those chocolate cookies that are dusted in icing sugar, but here chocolate crackles is the name of one of our favourite childhood treats. It's similar to rice krispies squares, except the marshmallow is replaced with chocolate and coconut and set into cupcake paper liners. Pretty much the best thing ever at the school bake sales. And here I've used it as the base of my cheesecake, and it works so well. The original chocolate crackles are made with Copha and cocoa powder, but I have issues with Copha with so I replaced it with real milk chocolate. It works just as well in this case since you are keeping the entire thing chilled.

Now I know there are going to be people who don't know what Milo is, there always is. It's a chocolate malt powder that's mixed with milk (or sometimes mixed with water and condensed milk if you're Malaysian), and it's one of my favourite things in the whole world. Just search for milo on this blog if you don't believe me. If you can't get Milo wherever you are, Ovaltine will be an adequate substitute, or malted milk powder with some cocoa powder might work as well. But nothing beats the real deal. I mixed it into the cheesecake filling, as well as using it as a topping on the cheesecake in the shape of Australia! Husband gets props for suggesting the shape.

Sydney just experienced it's hottest day on record, so when planning my baking for this weekend I was determined to keep the oven turned off. This cheesecake is entirely no-bake, you need to melt some chocolate for the base and then heat some milk for the chilled cheesecake filling. Pretty straightforward and worth the small amount of effort. I used my usual chilled cheesecake recipe, and added a sh*tload of Milo. I wanted to make sure it really packed a strong punch when it came to that malted chocolate flavour.

Remember, I'm still in the middle of my new year's health kick at the moment so I had to force myself to only have the smallest taste of this cheesecake. It was TORTURE. I could pretty much eat the whole thing. You might be concerned about this being too rich or sweet but it's not too bad. The whipped cream in the gelatine keeps it pretty light. You might need some elbow grease to cut through the chocolate crackle base, just use a sharp serrated knife. Seriously, I encourage you to try this out for Australia day, everyone will love it!

Australian Milo Cheesecake with a Chocolate Crackle Crust

(serves 8-10)

For the chocolate crackle base:

250g good quality milk chocolate, finely chopped

1/3 cup dessicated coconut

2 cups rice bubbles/rice krispies cereal

For the cheesecake filling:

300ml (about 1 1/4 cups) thickened (heavy) cream
340g (12oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (75g) sugar (I used caster/superfine)
200ml (about 3/4 cup) milk
1 1/2 cups Milo powder (can substitute with Ovaltine or malted milk powder + cocoa to taste)
4 tsp powdered gelatine
Optional: Extra Milo powder to decorate

Grease and line the base (with baking paper) of a 18cm or 20cm springform tin. Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted. (Okay I am lazy and melted mine in the microwave) Stir in coconut, then stir in rice bubbles. Pour into prepared tin and flatten into the base of tin in an even layer, using a spatula or the back of a spoon. (Sneak in a spoonful of the mixture for yourself to taste, it's good for the soul.) Place in the fridge for at least half an hour or until the chocolate is set.

Prepare the cheesecake filling; whip cream in a mixing bowl until it reaches soft peaks (take care not to overmix). Place cream cheese in a separate large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high until smooth. Add sugar and beat until combined. Place gelatin in a small separate bowl with 3 tbsp cold water to soften it. In a small saucepan, heat milk until it just comes to a boil, remove from heat then whisk in milo powder to dissolve. Add softened gelatin and whisk again to combine. Ensure there are no lumps. Add warm milk mixture to cream cheese and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped cream until smooth and then pour mixture over crumb layer. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. To serve, run a thin-bladed knife under hot water and then carefully run around the edge of the pan to loosen it. Carefully remove from pan and serve, or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.

If you wish to decorate the top like mine, trace a map of Australia out on a piece of baking paper and cut out. Press baking paper stencil over the top of the cheesecake and sprinkle milo on top. Brush off excess powder and then carefully lift up stencil.