AD / PR / AFF. - Foodie Friday - Quick. Healthy And Easy Meals With Love Yourself*

I love cooking, I love being in the kitchen and I love the sense of accomplishment that you feel when you've just made a fabulous meal for scratch. If I had time and energy I would be working my way through every recipe book that I own, but let's be realistic life gets in the way sometimes and you don't always the time or the energy, to prepare a meal or to even go to the supermarket. I don't know about you but when I'm having one of the those days and even weeks, I just grab the first thing in the freezer, the fridge or the cupboard, to fulfil my need for food, and 9 times out 10 the things that I pick aren't that healthy or nutritious.

Now you've probably heard of one of the many food boxes that you can that contain all the ingredients that you need to make a few days worth of main meals, I personally subscribe to one and I think that they are really good for meal planning, and for solving the age old dilemma about what to have for dinner, but whilst you can select quicker recipes on average each one takes about half and hour to make, and for most of them you do actually need a few culinary skills, not only that but as I say they generally only contain the ingredients for a few main meals so you still to brave the supermarket for your other two meals and the other things that help you feel satisfied.

They are still good, and they definitely have their place, but did you know that you can have a full days worth of freshly prepared meals delivered straight to your door - no work and barely no preparation needed? Well you can, and it's all courtesy of a company called Love Yourself, who deliver freshly cooked, nutritionally balanced, healthy, gourmet standard meals direct to your kitchen.

They full comprehensive, and easy to understand and use website gives you the choice of around 15 different plans based on nutritional needs are dietary requirements, including Vegetarian, Performance, Keto, Dairy Free, Pescatarian, Halal Balanced, Gluten Free, and a basic Balanced diet option.

Once you've selected your meal type - on most diets you can then select a calorie option depending on whether or not you want to lose weight or just eat an average days calorie intake. Once you've selected that you can then decided when your want to receive your food, you can choose anything from one days worth, to five, to six days worth, to Monday to Friday, for four weeks, and eight weeks and Monday to Saturday for both both four and 8 weeks. You can buy a day or two to try the plan or you can cut out the stress and the meal planning, and order yourself a full 8 weeks of food.

Most boxes contain a breakfast, a lunch, a dinner, and two snacks and whilst you don't have the option of selecting individual meals the menus are posted the week before, and if you contact Love Yourself both when your placing your initial order and after with dislikes or allergies etc. providing they have at least 48 hours notice they will try their best to substitute unwanted meals.

Now the lovely people at Love Yourself kindly sent me two days worth of meals to try. The meals I was sent were from the Vegetarian range, and I was send the 1500 calories a day option, which was priced at £25 a day. Created by a chef and a nutritionist, all of the meals in the plan contain fresh locally sourced ingredients, and none of the food is processed and none of it contains preservatives. They also contain all the nutrients you would need for one day and slow release carbohydrates for increased energy

If your lucky enough to live in certain areas of London or Bristol then you can get your meals delivered freshly every day, but don't worry if like me, you live elsewhere in mainland UK, then your meals will be delivered via DPD, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Now I received my box on a Tuesday, and as you can it was very well packaged. My meals came in sturdy outer box, which was lined with thick corrugated cardboard, and contained some ice packs. Once you've received them the meals should be be put in the fridge and should be eaten with 2 or 3 days. Some of the meals can be frozen but Love Yourself say they won't taste as good or as fresh as they should. 

All of the outer packaging is recyclable, and the meal containers which are made out of a fibre like, cardboard are fully recyclable and compostable.

This is the menu that I received and as you can see below, the food packaging features full ingredients, and nutritional information and if you use My Fitness Pal, you can scan the meals directly into the app. I actually use Nutri Check, a calorie counting app, and a lot of the meals are already on the but it's also really easy to add them yourself. I did switch the order of the meals around and I tended to eat the lunches in the evening, and obviously I got my meals on a Tuesday, but I going to just leave the Monday and Tuesday headings, and the other placements to avoid confusion x 

Monday

Breakfast

Baked Apple And Oat Cake With Blueberry Yogurt

First meal, first breakfast, and it was something familiar for me yogurt! I eat yogurt pretty much every morning, so this was a usual start to the day. The yogurt itself was a nice thick, blueberry flavoured greek yogurt, with real fresh blueberries mixed in to it. There was no real sweetness like you get with a lot of mass, supermarket yogurts, it tasted natural, and you could really taste the flavour of the blueberries.

Alongside the yogurt there was a piece of apple and oat cake. It was a very dense, very moist piece, of gluten free cake, it contained gluten free oats, apple, coconut, agave syrup, eggs and sunflower seeds. Agin it wasn't overly sweet, you could really taste the ingredients particularly the real apple, and the coconut, and the sunflower seeds gave it a nice crunch. 

I've got to say that I not normally that full after eating my breakfast but this was a really filling and tasty start the day, and it was fun dipping the cake in the yogurt.

Morning Snack

Sweet Potato Hummus

I've got to admit that I wasn't quite ready for the mid morning snack, and I was still a bit full from my breakfast but this really was a revelation. Using sweet potatoes instead of chickpeas, blended with red pepper, and the usual hummus ingredients of garlic, salt, oil and tahini. This smooth textured dip was amazing! It was slightly sweeter than normal hummus, but you could really taste the garlic, and sesame paste. Despite been packaged for around 24 hours the carrot sticks were real still fresh and crunchy. This would normally be a lunch for me instead of a snack but again it was really fresh and tasty, and I'm definitely going to be trying to recreate this in my kitchen.

Lunch

Tofu Tikka Masala With Rice & Goji Berries 

Now, although this was officially a lunch, I prefer to eat my main meal at night so I switched this one. Although the majority of meals can be served as it, some like this need to be heated. So although you can put them in the oven for speed I popped this the microwave for 3 minutes. First thing it smelled really good and it contained tofu and I love tofu! It contains big chunks of tofu, that had held it shape and hadn't gone mushy, as well as onions, peppers, courgettes, tomatoes, goji berries, and cashews, all in a mildly spiced, subtle coconut sauce, served alongside some white rice.

I probably overly microwaved so the rice was a touch dry, but the masala itself was perfect, with a slightly sweet, mildly spicy tomato forward sauce, it was a really nice mix of textures with softness of the tofu and the veg, and the slightly chewy, tartness of the goji berries, and the crunch of the cashews. Size it was about the same as an average ready meal, but it tasted so much fresher and again I felt full.

Afternoon Snack 

Chocolate Brownie

Ah chocolate! As as self confessed chocoholic - I was so pleased to see something chocolate related in my box. Now this is a brownie but not what would you probably expect in terms of sweetness and texture. This is a healthier brownie, and it's gluten free. Containing eggs, coconut milk, dark chocolate, almond flour, and dried dates, again it was very moist, very solid, very dense, very small and almost fudge like in appearance.

It had a really good dark chocolate flavour, and at the same time it had a slightly fruity flavour from the dates. Again it wasn't too sweet, but it was very rich, and it delivered that perfect chocolate hit. If you've ever eaten something like a Naked bar, or a chocolate protein bar, then this is pretty similar taste wise. I actually saved this for my evening snack because I like something sweet before bed.

Dinner 

Nectarine, Mozzarella & Broad Bean Salad

The one thing that I was slightly, worried about with this box was the salads and vegetables - just how fresh would it actually be! Well I needn't have worried, instead of the soggy salad expected, everything was fresh and crunchy. Containing grated mozzarella, fresh broad beans, nectarine, mixed salad leaves, and cherry tomatoes, the salad came with a little separate pot of dressing which contained raspberries, cider vinegar, dijon mustard, basil, and xylitol (a sweetener).

The nectarine was a touch underripe which actually worked really well with the salad, everything was nice and fresh, but by far the star was the dressing sweet yet tart because of the raspberries, with an almost pesto hit, it had a really good flavour but oddly enough it didn't overpower the freshness or flavours of the rest of the salad.

Tuesday

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs With Homemade County Style Bread

Day 2, and it started with one of my favourite food, scrambled eggs with homestyle bread. The tray contained a small portion of scrambled eggs, which was just eggs, egg whites, olive oil, salt and black pepper, and three smaller end pieces of a country style, brown loaf.

I heated the scrambled egg up in the microwave, and I toasted the bread under the grill, as the pieces were a bit small and thick for my toaster. The eggs were really good, they were well seasoned, and not too dry, and too wet, just the way I like them. Now I shouldn't really be eating wheat but there was so little in both days worth of meals that it wasn't a problem. The bread itself was nice, and slightly sweet, with a dense and chewy texture.

Compared to what I normally eat first thing, this seemed like a lot but I really enjoyed it, and  it made me think that I should really switch up my breakfasts a bit more.

Morning Snack

Sweetcorn & Feta Muffin

Day 2, or egg day as I came to call it, contained with a mid morning snack, and it was what was described as a Sweetcorn and Feta Muffin. Containing sweetcorn, onion, eggs and egg whites, feta cheese, coconut oil, cumin and salt, you could eat it as it was, or like what I did warm it in the microwave for around 20 seconds.

It wasn't a muffin in either of the traditional senses of the word, instead it was more like a crustless quiche, a savoury pudding, or a heavier souffle. It had a lovely creamy texture with pieces of sweetcorn and it had a lovely savoury taste. It wasn't what I expected but I actually really enjoyed it.

Lunch

Meatless Bolognese With Pasta And Cheddar

 There is nothing I love more than a good veggie bolognese, and the lunch (which again I switched with my evening meal) was a good. Accompanied by gluten free penne pasta, the meat free bolognese was full of veg includes tomatoes, onions, carrots, and chickpeas, as well as chunks of vegetable fibre, and soy based, meatless meat, and it was sprinkled with cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds.

With all the traditional Italian herbs, the sauce had a nice sweetness, and a touch of smokiness, and again the textures were a real bonus. It was more of a chunky meat based bolognese than a mince, and the meatless meat was good and added some nice texture, as did the sunflower seeds. As a gluten free pasta aficionado this was a decent pasta, it will never be the same as wheat pasta but it was decent texture wise, it wasn't soggy, it was al dente which was perfect. I really enjoyed it was tasty and filling.

Afternoon Snack

Apple And Banana Slice

Afternoon snack time, and it was another yogurt and cake combo. Again a small piece of very moist, very dense cake made from bananas, apple, coconut milk, eggs, coconut milk, buckwheat flour and agave syrup, alongside a portion of natural yogurt.

As I say it very moist, almost wet, but solid at the same time, you could really taste the nuttiness of the buckwheat flour, with a hint of fresh apple and a lot of real banana flavour. Again the cake worked really well with the tart yet creaminess of the yogurt. I've been thinking while I've been writing this post about how to describe the cake, and the only thing I can think of is if you've eaten any raw desserts, solid, damp, and full of natural flavours.

Dinner

Cumin-Spiced Lentils & Brussel Sprouts

I know it trendy to hate them, and I do know that some people genuinely dislike them, but I'm a huge Brussel sprout fan, I love them steamed, stir fried, roasted, and I even put raw ones into salads so I was really to see them served in another way. This one was another heat and eat meal so I removed the egg and popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Containing a boiled egg, some nice al dente lentils, Brussel sprouts, onions, leeks, this meal had a lovely slightly tangy flavour coming from the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. It was a really unusual but really flavourful, tasty meal, and again it was really filling.

So they were my two days and they were my meals and snacks. All the food have to say was really fresh tasting and the lack of processed food was really evident.

Of the sweet thing, all of the sweeteners were natural, and there wasn't any more added than what was needed, and as a result you could really taste the ingredients, and the fresh fruits. The cakes could possibly be a bit on an acquired taste and texture (Mummy Lou wasn't keen on the textures of the bites that I gave her) but I really enjoyed them as a more healthier, filling alternative, to chocolate, biscuits or even fresh fruit, and it really made me realise just how much sugar I eat even in the savoury thing that I eat.

The main meals and savoury items were very flavourful, again they weren't overly salted, and the seasoning and flavours were perfect for me personally. Something I really I really enjoyed about all the savoury dishes in particular was all the different textures, the crunch from the seeds and berries, to the different textures of the vegetables and pulses.

As I say purely based on food, and ignoring drinks etc. my total calorie count was 1500 or there or there abouts. What really surprised me was just how filling all of the meals actually were, I would normally eat more than 1500 calories a day, and I would usually feel a lot less full, and a lot less satisfied then I did over the course of these two. The quality of the food was really good and every aspect of each meal was really well thought out and I honestly didn't feel as though I was on a 'diet'.

The one drawback of Love Yourself unfortunately is the price,  as I say one days worth of vegetarian 1500 calorie meals is £25 but the more meals you order the more you save, and you can get 5 days worth for £115 and 4 weeks Monday to Friday for £460. You can cancel with 48 hours notice at anytime so you aren't tied in to any contracts, and you only get what you pay for.

It is pricy but you probably could say goodbye to that weekly shop, and the temptations that it brings. If you really are time poor, or energy poor, or if you're unable to cook for yourself though this is a really great idea to get good healthy, fresh food with the effort. I personally found that those two days really helped to think about food in a slightly different way, I still love cooking things from scratch but it's made think about ways that I can improve my own diet and way of eating, and it's a really good kickstart to a new healthy eating regime for me.

The Love Yourself website is full of advice, and information not only on how their plans work, but also generally on how to live better, and eat more healthily and more consciously, and if you want to try it for yourself you can use my link or quote Louise H at checkout for 20% off your first order. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be back soon with another post x 

*This Post An Unpaid Advertisement For Love Yourself. Meals Were Provided For Review And Promotional Purposes. This Post All Contains 2 Affiliate Links And An Affiliate Discount Code

Festive Foodie Friday - Chocolate Bark

Okay, I'm going to apologise for actually calling this recipe, I'm not giving you quantities, a precise method or even the exact ingredients, this "recipe" can be tailored to suit anybody, any occasion and to be honest whatever you have in the cupboard.

If your house is anything like mine at the moment, then it's probably full to bursting point with two things, cheese and chocolate! I guess you could add cheese to this but that would probably be slightly weird! This is a great way of taking a bit of that excess chocolate and transforming into something just that little bit different

Chocolate bark or chocolate slabs as they're often known are everywhere at the moment but they can be quite expensive, which is strange considering how easy they are to make. All you need is some chocolate and some toppings of your choice. Here's how I made mine...

First up line a shallow tin or oven tray with some greaseproof paper or parchment.

Then melt your chocolate, you can use what ever kind of chocolate that you like, I'm using milk chocolate with just a touch of white swirled into it. Always be careful not to overheat your chocolate, and just a tip if your melting white chocolate, add just a touch of coconut oil which seems to stop it going lumpy.

The bulk of my slab is going to be made with milk chocolate, so pour your melted chocolate onto the greaseproof, and spread it evenly with a spatula or a palette knife. You needn't be too precarious about the shape, but try not to make it too thin.

I then swirled my white chocolate through the bark, covering it up slightly to create layers when it breaks.

Then go mad and sprinkle your bark with whatever you fancy here I'm using chopped up pieces of vanilla fudge, pecan nuts, toffee popcorn, white chocolate chips, mini vegetarian friendly marshmallows, popping candy and edible glitter!! Press your toppings down gently into the melted chocolate. When you've pimped your chocolate leave it in a cold place for a few to set (sorry for the lighting change but by the time mine had set it was dark!!)

Once it's set break it up into shards, and then you can either serve it and eat it straight away or you can keep it in an airtight tin, in a cool places for a few days depending on your toppings.

You really can make your bark your own, you could keep it healthy and use dark chocolate, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, or you can make it more adult or dinner party friendly, with a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, with dark chocolate coffee beans, or broken up after dinner mints. It goes with out saying that you could make it completely child friendly and cover it with chocolate beans, chocolate buttons, or jellies, or you could even add broken up biscuits and cookies, and it goes without saying that make a festive bark, and use an orange flavoured chocolate or cover a milk or plain chocolate bark in broken up candy canes, or gingerbread biscuit crumbs, or even pretzel sticks or salted peanuts!

Whatever ingredients that you use though, this is a super quick and easy sweet treat, to make as a treat for the family, as an emergency Christmas gift or as an alternative to the mince pies for Santa x
Don't forget to have a look under the recipes tab just under my blog header to see plenty more festive food ideas and sweet treats x

A Reflective Foodie Friday On A Sunday - Cinder Toffee

Looking back over the years I don't tend to post on November 5th that often, normally when I do it's a tribute to my dad or more personal posts about grief and loss, but this year I decided to do something a little bit different.

Losing someone you love is hard but when it's on a day that people celebrate or that means something to everyone, then it's even harder. On November 5th 2002, I lost my dad very suddenly, and ever since then I've hated Bonfire Night was a passion, every single bang and sparkle of light, brings back memories that quite frankly I don't want to remember.

Life doesn't change for other people though , so I guess you just need to get on with it, and try and embrace it with the best of them. So I'm writing this post, attempting to calm down some very scared kitty cats, looking at the pretty lights outside of the window and trying to remember the happy times.

So many of my good memories of my dad, my grans, and my childhood concern food, and the 5th November is no different, from baked potatoes and beans, to parkin,  and to treacle toffee and cinder toffee, food like fragrance, is intrinsically linked to our feelings and memories.

My mam used to be a big sweet maker, every year she'd make trays of peppermint creams, fudge, coconut ice, rum truffles and cinder toffee for us to eat in the run up to, and at Christmas. When you look at recipes associated with Guy Fawkes night, Cinder Toffee is always somewhere on the list. Cinder Toffee is one of the most names associated with it, at least up north, but you might know it as Hokey Pokey, Puff Candy, or Sponge Candy, or as Honeycomb. Yes it's that brittle, yet chewy toffee, that's full of air bubble, that you'll find in your Crunchie bar.

It's easy enough to buy it on it's own or covered with chocolate but like so many things it's often hard to beat something that's homemade. It isn't the hardest thing to make but you do need to be a bit careful in more ways than one. There are a few different recipes out there but this is our go to.

Cinder Toffee

3 Heaped Tablespoons Of Golden Syrup Or Treacle 

7oz (200g) Caster Sugar

1 1/2oz (40g) Butter

2 Tablespoons Cold Water

1/2 Teaspoon Vinegar

1 Heaped Teaspoon Of Bicarbonate Of Soda

1. Well grease a loaf tin or line with non stick parchment paper  - Okay as you can see this isn't a loaf tin it's a small roasting tin, which on reflection wasn't the best tin to make this in as it ended up a bit thinner then it should have done. You needn't be too precise with size but it's better to make it in a smaller and deeper tin, than a larger shallower one like this one.

2. To make this recipe you really need a good quality heavy bottomed pan, the pan is going to get hot so you want something that's pretty substantial. I'm using a pressure cooker pan here.

Add your sugar, syrup, butter and cold water and heat gently until the sugar is melted, stirring all the time

3. When your sugar has melted, turn up the heat until it reaches a continuous rolling boil. If you have a sugar thermometer your mixture needs to reach 290˚ F or 143˚ C. If you don't have one though don't worry, get yourself a cup of cold water and keep testing the mixture by dripping blobs into the water. The mixture will go through several stages but eventually the mixture will become hard and brittle and snap when you drop it into the water.

4. Once it's reached that stage take the pan off the heat, and add the vinegar and the vinegar and the bicarb, and give it a good stir. It will expand slightly at this stage, and foam and change colour slightly. (Make sure that your bicarbonate of soda isn't too near the expiry date - the longer you have it the more it loses it potency - a new tub will give the best results)

5. Then pour it CAREFULLY in to your tin - Don't be tempted to touch the mix with your hands or taste it - it will be stupidly hot.

6. Then leave your tray in a cool dry place for a few hours until it's set solid. No matter how well you've greased your tin it will still be nigh on impossible to get it out of the tin. I suggest either hitting your cinder toffee with a hammer or careful drop the tray onto the floor to break up your toffee. You won''t get any neat squares with this rough shards are what you should be aiming for.

You can either eat it straight away or you can store it for a few days in a cool, dry airtight tin. It should be the perfect combo of brittle and chewy. You can either eat as is, or you can cover it chocolate, use it with a chocolate fondue, or you can crush it up and use for an ice cream topping, in butter cream or whipped cream in cakes, or in cookies or flapjacks.

This isn't the most dentist friendly treat so watch those crowns and fillings, and brush your teeth after you've gorge. I'm at the dentist this week so this probably wasn't the perfect thing to eat this weekend but I enjoyed it anyways, and sometimes a little bit of what you fancy does you good. What do you call cinder toffee? Let me know in the comments and I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Guy Fawkes night x 

Foodie Friday On A Saturday - No Bake Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

This post is typical I suppose of how this year has gone, I don't post a Foodie Friday post for eons, and then when I do it becomes a Foodie Friday On A Saturday post instead. Ha! Ha! life fail in the extreme seems to sum up my year! Anyways I hope that you will agree, that this recipe was one worth waiting for.

I love cheesecake, I crave cheesecake on a regular basis, but as you probably know a lot of the ones that you buy in the supermarkets just don't cut the mustard - they are okay in an emergency but when you want the real I am, you can't beat a homemade dessert.

Baked cheesecakes scare me and as a vegetarian throwing gelatine into something isn't really an option so this no bake, vegetarian friendly number fits the bill perfectly. The recipe is very loosely based on a No Bake Raspberry And White Chocolate Cheesecake that a lovely lady that used to blog shared many moons ago. As long as you stick to the basic filling mix then you can use what every chocolate you like, and you can play with the flavours and the filling be it fruit, or even more chocolate. I made this recipe last week for my mam's birthday and I'm going to be honest this isn't one for the faint hearted - it's hugely calorific, very rich and very sickly, if you like your sweets to be sweet, then this is the dessert for you.

No Bake Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

For The Base

100g Ginger Nuts

100g Chocolate Digestives

75g Butter (More For Greasing)

397g Tin Carnation Caramel

For The Filling

500g Full Fat Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)

50g Caster Sugar

180ml Whipping Cream

600g Milk Chocolate

65g Butter

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract Or Vanilla Paste

Large Bar Of Caramel Filled Chocolate or Soft Caramel Filled Buttons Or Chocolates

For this cheesecake you will need a very well greased, loose bottomed or spring form cake tin, around 23cm across, don't worry if it's a little bit smaller but if it's any bigger you might need to make a bit more of the base.

1. To make the base all you need to do is to crush your biscuits, either in a sealed bag with a rolling pin or if you have one, use a food processor, it's way easier on the arms and you get a more consistent crumb. Melt your butter and then add it to the crumb mix with a tablespoon of the caramel, and give it a good stir.

2. Now it's time for one of the grossest pictures that you will probably ever see on my blog ;) It doesn't look good but the combo of butter, caramel and biscuit crumbs, tastes fantastic. Try not to eat it though, because a cheesecake is nothing without it's base. Pour the crumb mix into your well greased tin, and then press it down evenly and firmly with either the back of a spoon or a potato masher to create a compressed, even crust.

Then either pop it into the fridge or put it in a cool place for around an hour to firm up

3. While your base is setting it's time to start on the filling. Put your chocolate into a large bowl, with your butter and your vanilla, and pop it over a bowl of boiling water, gently stirring until it's melted. Try not to get any water into your chocolate mix and make sure that your chocolate mix doesn't get too hot.

4. While your chocolate mix is melting, put your room temperature cream cheese into a large bowl, and then add the cream and the sugar, then mix it all together until it's smooth.

5. You don't have to add any more chocolate but I love the texture difference in my cheesecake so you can either add some ordinary chopped chocolate or you can do what I've done here and chopped up a large bar of soft caramel filled chocolate (this is Cadbury's Caramel), or you can use individual soft caramel filled chocolates. Pop the chopped chocolate into the fridge until you're ready for it.

6. By now your chocolate mix should be fully melted, give it a good stir to make sure that there are no lumps or solid pieces. It will be a bit thicker than normal melted chocolate due to the addition of the butter so don't panic if it looks a bit thick. Leave it to cool for a minute or two.

7. Then add your melted chocolate mix to your cheese mix, and carefully mix it together until it's smooth and full combined

8. Then mix in your caramel filled chocolate until it's evenly distributed throughout the filling mix.

9. Now it's time to start building your cheesecake, start off by putting a few dollops of caramel sauce on to your chilled cheesecake base

Then start spooning in your cheesecake filling mixture, alternating it with spoonfuls of caramel

Keep a little bit of caramel for the top and swirl it through your cheesecake mix. Then put it in a cold place or in the fridge for at least 12 hours, I left mine for around 24 hours to be on the safe side. Make sure that you put your tin onto a baking sheet or a plate and you can sometimes get a little bit of liquid escaping from the tin, and make sure that you cover the top to avoid anything dripping into the mix

10. Unlike a baked cheesecake or one containing gelatine, this cheesecake will never set completely solid. After leaving it to set though you will notice a definite difference in the texture. It will feel firmer to the touch. Then I guess you just need to be brave, run a palette knife around edges to loosen it, and then either unclip the side of your tin, or push it up from the bottom, and your cheesecake should come away easily.

11. If it doesn't come away evenly it's not the end of the world, it will still taste great even if it doesn't look it. If it comes out great well done you, smooth the edges off with a palette knife, and if you don't think there is enough chocolate or caramel in it already, then decorate it with a bit more, I used Cadbury's Caramel Nibbles here x

Then serve in small slices, it will be gooey as hell, that's just the way it is. Pop it back into the fridge in between ravishings where it will keep for a couple of days, if you can leave it alone that is.

Tips And Suggestions

• As I say providing you stick to the basic chocolate, cheese ration you can use what ever you like, the original version uses white chocolate and raspberries and white chocolate buttons in the filling instead of the caramel, and the milk chocolate and it's amazing. I'm also envisaging a milk and white chocolate swirled cheesecake, a chocolate orange one for Christmas, and maybe white chocolate with strawberry or passion fruit, or a chocolate and peanut butter version or a white chocolate version with crushed Oreos, or even a dark chocolate and salted caramel version, just use your imagination!
• If you think this version is too much then you can of course leave out the extra chocolate in the filling on the top and just use the caramel.
• Instead of Carnation Caramel you could also obviously make your own caramel or toffee sauce, or use a jar of Dulce De Leche, a salted caramel sauce or even something like Cadbury's Caramel Spread.
• I've made this with a combination of gluten free chocolate digestives and ginger snaps but you can use what ever biscuits that you like - digestives are obviously the preferred biscuit for cheesecakes but ginger snaps, bourbons and Oreos also work really well
• It's really important that your cream cheese is at room temperature, it just won't mix in well enough if it's too cold. It's also important that you use a decent cream cheese for this recipe you don't want anything low fat, and whilst supermarket brands do work don't go for their budget or value cream cheese, it just isn't creamy or thick enough.

Obviously this cheesecake isn't something that you would eat all the time, it's way too calorific and expensive to make every day but for a treat or for a special occasion it's well worth indulging in a yummy slice of homemade cheesecake. If you have any questions please leave me a comment and if you try this out I'd love to see your creations x