No-Bake Bailey's Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

This recipe uses a no-bake cheesecake and a microwave cake as a base.  Easier to make than pie!  Just make the individual parts and then layer.  Oh and there is no glaze on the strawberries.  We were just lucky enough to buy really awesome mini-strawberries that were sweet and juicy.  You can always glaze it by brushing with a bit of melted strawberry jam if you like.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of splenda (Likanto sugar works well too!)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup of milk (anything from skim to low-cal nut milks will work)
1 egg
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cheesecake:

250g (about 1 cup) of low-fat cream cheese
120 g (about 1 cup) semi-sweet/dark chocolate
1 1/2 shots (about 60 ml)Bailey's Irish Cream
1-2 tbsp of water

1 pint Strawberries for

Instructions (Cake)

1. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. 
2. Whisk the milk, egg, and lemon juice together.  
3. Add to the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Add more milk or water as necessary so that it is not too thick.  (A spoon should sink into it slowly)
4. Poor the mix into flat microwavable container (silicone baking dishes are excellent for this) and microwave on high for 10-14 minutes.  Check after 10 minutes to see if the cake has finished cooking. (It should be dry on top.  You can also insert a toothpick into the middle. When nothing sticks it is cooked.) 
5. Remove from cooking pan and let cool.

(Cheesecake)

1. In a microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals. 
2. Once smooth, using a mixer or hand blender (immersion blender) blend the melted chocolate with the water, baileys, and cream cheese.   Note: The water is important here as it will seize the chocolate giving the mix that solid "baked cheesecake" texture.  If you are using milk chocolate, use less water.  If you are using dark chocolate, you may need more.  The higher the cocoa content, the harder the chocolate will be.
3. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the cake and refrigerate to set.
4. Cut the tops off of the strawberries, wash and dry.  Place the strawberries on top of the set cheesecake evenly or as you prefer.  
5. Cut & serve. Enjoy!

Lighter Chocolate Covered Digestive Biscuits

These are the most addictive digestives biscuits ever!  They are lower in calories than the store bought ones because we use less butter and no sugar, but there is a load of chocolate!   :)

Ingredients

(Makes 2-3 dozen cookies depending on size)
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup of whole wheat
5 tbsp of Splenda
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp of low calorie butter (I use I can't believe it's not butter light)
1/4 cup of almond milk/cashew milk
pinch of salt
Chocolate to cover (about 300 g if cover 1 side.  Double that amount to cover both sides.)

Instructions  (preheat ovwen 375 degrees F)

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Rub the butter into the dry mix with your hands. (This is much faster than cutting it in.)  The mix should resemble fine crumbs.
3. Add in the nut milk and still until the dough comes together.  (You may need to add more milk.)  It should feel tacky but not too soft like a bread dough.
4. On a Silpat or parchment paper roll out the dough until it is wafer thin. (about 3-4 millimeters)  Cut it to the shape you want and gather the scraps to roll out again.  You may need to let the dough rest as glutton will form.  
5. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate the cookies and bake for another 7 minutes.  The top of the cookies should be golden brown.  Check to see that the bottom is also brown.  If the bottom has no browned, flip the cookies over and bake for another 5-6 minutes until that side is about the same.  
6. Cool on a rack.
7. In a microwaveable bowl, heat the chocolate in 1 minute intervals, stirring between heating to melt evenly.  (If your microwave is strong, heat in shorter burst such as 45 seconds) 
8. Spread the chocolate on to one side of the cookie and let it harden in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  (Coat both sides and cool on parchment for easy removal)

Light Double Chocolate Marble Kugelhopf

A Weissenstein favourite.  This Kugelhopf is made with Splenda and almond milk to reduce calories where it isn't necessary (so we can have more chocolate!)  It is more like a fluffy bread then cake, however with the large dose of chocolate and soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior, it's best described as a chocolate cloud!  This was baked in a loaf pan instead of a ring pan as the ring pan was not available that day, but the taste is still amazing so use what you have!




Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Splenda
• 2 tbsp I can't believe it's not butter (or regular butter if you don't care about fat/calories)
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 cup almond milk/skim milk
• 2-3 tbsp hot water (to warm milk)
• 1 large egg (beaten)
• 3 tbsp Splenda
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Makes 1 large kugelhopf 

 Making the dough base

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour and 1 cup of Splenda, then cut in the butter until it resembles fine crumbs.
2. Heat the almond milk with 2-3 tbsp of hot water until it is feels warm to the touch and stir in the yeast. Let it sit until bubbles form.
3. Make a well in the flour and pour in yeast mixture.  Stir until the dough starts coming together.  Add vanilla and beaten egg, then continue kneading the dough (lifting the sides and folding it over) until it starts becoming smooth.  (Don't worry if it looks more like paste than dough.  As the dough is resting, gluten will form and the dough will become more elastic and bread-like.)  
4. Divide the dough into equal portions and place one half into another large bowl.
5. Let the vanilla dough rest for 20-30 minutes or until double in size.  

Meanwhile, make the Chocolate Dough!

Chocolate Dough:

1. In a small container mix together 3 tbsp of Splenda, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, and 1 tbsp of hot water.  Add more water as necessary to make a smooth paste.
2. Kneed the cocoa paste into the dough until it is an even brown colour.  (This is VERY messy.  You will need your scraper to remove dough from your hands! Do not be afraid if it takes a while to incorporate the chocolate paste (it's worth it)  I suggest you keep it in the bowl to mix rather than on a table. Less to clean.
3. Once the dough is smooth, let is rest for 20-30 minutes until it is double in size.

Putting it together:

1. Knock down both bowls of dough and stack them one on top of the other on a floured bench.
2. Roll out the dough into a good sized square and fold it in half.  This will give you a good layering effect.  (Hint:  Do not fold too many times as your layers will be too thin and you won't be able to see the marbling.)
3. Spread the chocolate chips evenly onto the square and roll it into a log.
4. If using a ring pan, place the log inside the ring of the join the ends together.  If using a loaf pan, pinch the ends and fold under the log if possible, then place it in the pan. 
5. Let rise until almost triple in size.
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lower your racks to give the kugalhopf enough space to rise as it bakes.  (And it will!)
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning after 10 minutes for even baking.
8. Remove from pan, cool on a rack & enjoy!