Michelle Darmody: These no-bake cheesecakes are the perfect last minute dessert

Plus decadent brownies to serve with coffee

These bite-sized cakes are the perfect Easter dessert. 

At this time of year, it is always good to have a few extra chocolate recipes up your sleeve, particularly if you want to mop up any excess Easter egg.

I thought the combination of chocolate and cherry sounded strange until I tasted it. I think it works very well in this recipe. The skewer test is not helpful when baking brownies as they should be sticky and coat a skewer rather than leaving it clean. 

It can be tricky to know when exactly they are baked to your liking, and a lot can depend on an individual oven. If you are unsure, check them after about 25 minutes, then at five-minute intervals. You do not want any wobble, the top should have a shine to it and the brownie will have just started to come away from the sides of the tin.

Chocolate orange mini cheesecakes

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

These no-bake cheesecakes are not only super cute, but super delicious too

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 3 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 0 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 240g digestive biscuits, finely crushed

• 80g soft butter

• 20g chocolate, broken into small even size pieces

• 590g cream cheese

• Zest 3 medium oranges

• 95g of icing sugar

• 275mls cream, whipped to soft peaks

• To decorate:

• Mini eggs

• Chocolate flakes

Method

1. Line the base of six small loose-based tart tin or large muffin tins with parchment.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate, together over a low heat. Stir in the very finely crush biscuits making sure everything is well combined. Scoop the mixture into the tins and press it down. Place into the fridge to cool and firm up.

3. In the meantime, whisk the cream cheese, zest and icing sugar until it is smooth and beginning to thicken. It may take a few minutes. Fold in the whipped cream. The mixture should be stiff to hold a shape, whisk some more if this is not the case. Scoop on top of the cooled bases and place back into the fridge for at least three hours or until you are ready to serve them.

4. Remove the mini cakes from fridge about 10 minutes before serving and wipe the outside of each tin with a warm cloth before you begin to remove the cake from the tin. Using a long flat implement such as a metal spatula gently loosen the cakes. Push the loose-base up and as you do nudge the cake out from the sides. Decorate as you wish.

Chocolate, cherry and coconut brownies

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Indulgent and delicious - serve these brownies with a cup of strong coffee

Servings

9

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 180g broken chocolate pieces

• 180g soft butter

• 3 large eggs

• 270g golden caster sugar

• 85g plain flour

• 40g of cocoa powder

• 30g desiccated coconut, toasted

• 50g cherries — either fresh, destoned and halved or black cherries in syrup — the syrup drained

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C and line an 8-inch square tin with parchment.

2. Gently melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until they have doubled in volume. Set aside.

4. Mix the flour, cocoa and coconut until well combined.

5. Gently fold the cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs. Add the flour mixture and combine everything with a spatula. Stir in the cherries.

6. Scoop the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for about 30 minutes.

7. The top should have a nice shine and the sides will just start to come away from the tin.

8. Allow to cool in the tin and then slice to whatever size you desire.