4-layer Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the crust:
16 Oreo (or Neo) cookies --with chocolate filling if you can find them
2 TBS melted butter

For the fillings:
250g caster (fine) sugar
500g full-fat soft cream cheese
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 TBS Cointreau or Grand Marnier liqueur
4 medium to large eggs

150g dark (70%) chocolate, melted and cooled

For the top layer:
250g sour cream
2 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate sauce if desired:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
2 TBS heavy cream

How to make it:
Preheat oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3/325°F.

For crust: crush cookies in a Ziplock bag with a rolling pin, or in a food processor, until finely crumbed. Add the melted butter and mix through.
Press this onto the bottom of a 9-inch round springform baking pan.
Pre-bake crust on a preheated baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Combine sugar, cream cheese, and eggs; whip until well beaten.
Remove 1/3 of this filling and beat in the cooled chocolate (it will thicken).
Pour the chocolate layer over the baked crust, smoothing the surface.
Add rind and orange liqueur to the rest of the cream cheese filling.
Carefully pour this orange batter over the chocolate layer.
Bake for one hour or until set but center still jiggles slightly.
Remove from oven and evenly pour over sour-cream mixture.
Bake another 10 minutes or until set but not browned.

Immediately run a sharp knife around the edge of the cheesecake.
Cool in pan to room temperature; then wrap well in clingfilm and chill at least 4 hours or overnight before carefully removing from pan and serving. (It helps to use a very sharp knife dipped in hot water between slices.) Optional chocolate sauce is nice for a fancier dinner, otherwise it is wonderful without.

Chocolate sauce:
Melt chocolate together with cream slowly in a small, heavy saucepan until chocolate melts. Stir through and serve warm. Do not allow to boil.

Cheesy Fresh Corn Pudding

This is my personal twist on traditional creamed corn aka corn pudding. The cheese and onions add enough ballast and zip for this to count as a main course, though it makes a great side for grilled meats or baked ham, too.


Ingredients:
4 fresh ears of corn
175g (6oz) sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
3 spring or green onions, including green part, washed and chopped
Generous 1/2 cup cream or condensed (not sweetened!) milk
1 large egg, beaten
Pinch each fresh nutmeg, dry mustard, and red paprika
Salt to taste (not much, the cheese is salty)
A goodly amount of freshly-ground black pepper

How to make it: 
Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F.
Shuck the corn and, with a sharp knife, scrape all the kernels, including the milky white juice, into a deep bowl (this will keep it from spraying all over your kitchen).
Add to the corn the grated cheese and green onions, mixing well.
In a small bowl, beat together the cream, egg and seasonings until smooth.
Pour liquid over the corn mixture and mix well.
Pour into a medium-sized greased casserole and spread evenly.
Bake for 1/2 hour or until edges are browned and pudding jiggles only slightly in the middle.
Cool 5 minutes before serving. Can be eaten as a side dish (serves 4) or a vegetarian main course (serves 2).