Banana and Chocolate Cheesecake

To prepare the banana and chocolate cheesecake, start with the base: put the cocoa cookies in a food processor and finely chop them. Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan; meanwhile, place the crumbled cookies in a bowl and gradually add the melted butter, mixing everything well 1. Butter a cake pan, preferably with a springform, with a diameter of about 9 inches; cut a circle of parchment paper the same diameter as the mold and two strips the same height as the edges. If necessary, you can refer to the guide on how to line a cake pan with parchment paper. Then, place the crumbled cookies in the pan covered with parchment paper and, using the back of a spoon, compact the cookie base well 2. Chill the base in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes 3.

Now start on the filling: peel the bananas and cut them into slices about a quarter inch thick 4, place them in a pan with the butter, the juice of half a lemon, and 1.4 oz of sugar 5. Cook over medium heat until the bananas are soft and creamy 6.

Now pass the cooked bananas through a sieve to obtain a smooth pulp or mash them with a fork 7. In a stand mixer or large bowl, place the fresh spreadable cheese 8, add the banana pulp 9, and finally 2.1 oz of sugar.

Start mixing the ingredients with the stand mixer whisk. If you don't have a stand mixer, use an electric hand mixer or whisk. Then, gradually add 3.5 fl oz of fresh liquid cream 10 while continuing to mix the mixture. Finally, flavor the cream with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Alternatively, you can use a packet of vanillin or the seeds of a vanilla pod 11. Then, soften the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. For process details, you can check the guide on how to use gelatin. Squeeze the gelatin sheets well and dissolve them in 1 tablespoon of heated liquid cream 12.

Let the cream cool to room temperature, then add it to the banana cream. Turn on the whisk again to blend the cream 13. Separately, whip the rest of the cream with another 2.1 oz of sugar. For this procedure, you can consult the guide on How to Whip Cream. Once whipped, gently fold the cream into the banana cream, mixing from bottom to top with a spatula to avoid deflating the whipped cream 14. Pour the resulting cream into the cake pan you have taken out of the fridge 15. Create an even layer of cream and let the cake set for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

When the cheesecake has set and is ready 16, unmold it and transfer it to a dessert plate. Score the top with a spatula as if to divide it into slices. Garnish with dollops of dark chocolate melted in a double boiler, using a piping bag with a star tip 17. You can gently place banana slices on the dollops and alternate the decoration with dark chocolate shavings. Your banana and chocolate cheesecake will be ready to be served 18.