Buckwheat Chocolate Cheesecake

We use our organic buckwheat flakes for the cheesecake base, with a little crunchy brown sugar and some butter.

The cheesecake topping has a small amount of organic buckwheat flour stirred through for a subtle thread of flavour between that and the base. 

You can make this a day in advance if you want and then chill, and ideally bring to room temperature before slicing.

This cheesecake can be made gluten-free provided you ensure the dark chocolate is gluten-free as well as choosing gluten-free certified buckwheat flour and flakes (to ensure no cross-contamination risks).

Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS

For the base

• 150g organic buckwheat flakes
• 30g crunchy brown sugar
• 75g melted butter
• Pinch sea salt flakes

For the cheesecake

• 150g dark chocolate
• 450g cream cheese
• 180g caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• pinch salt (optional)
• 150ml double cream
• 50g organic buckwheat flour

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Line a 23cm springform cake tin with greaseproof baking parchment, that reaches at least 6cm over the top of the tin. Make sure the lining has no room for leaks, as the batter is quite liquid.

For the Buckwheat Flake Base:

Stir the buckwheat flakes, melted butter, sugar and sea salt flakes together in a bowl.

Press them into the base of the cake tin firmly, then place in the fridge to chill while you make the cheesecake filling.

For the Cheesecake:

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie over a low heat, then remove from the heat when liquid.

Using an electric whisk, beat the cream cheese together with the sugar until there are no lumps and it is smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 15 seconds in between each. Add the salt (if using).

Add the cream, and whisk until silky.

Fold in the cooled melted chocolate.

Stir in the flour and gently combine, until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into your cake tin.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Towards the end of the baking time, just keep an eye on the top of the cake through the oven door (don’t open it) to check the progress. If it is blackening, turn the heat down, and likewise if it is cooking too slowly, turn it up a little for the last 5 – 10 minutes. 
Baking it lower and slower means it shouldn’t crack on top, however all our ovens can be a bit different in terms of how accurate their heat levels are – keep an eye on it as it goes and if it looks like it’s beginning to crack turn the temperature down a bit. 

Remove from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin until it has set. Carefully remove the cake tin and peel off the baking parchment. 
Ideally, make it a day ahead and chill in the fridge overnight, then bring it to room temperature to serve – this makes it easier to slice.
If you’re eating it on the same day, leave it to cool fully before slicing.

You could serve with sour cream or yoghurt, pouring cream and / or fresh fruit like cherries, or simply by itself.