Banana Coconut Cheesecake

BASE:
330g pkt chocolate biscuits
100g butter or margarine, melted

TOPPING:
500g cream cheese / quark / fromage blanc
100g caster or icing sugar
75g desiccated coconut
3tbsp coconut liqueur OR 60g / 2oz / 1 pkt coconut powder
3 ripe bananas, mashed
175g – 200g dark chocolate
6 sheets of gelatin OR the quantity required for 500ml of liquid
4 tbsp water
200g cream whipped

TO SERVE:
1 banana, sliced
Lemon juice
Melted chocolate
OR
Whipped cream

METHOD:

1. Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. (See note below). Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and spread on the base of 26cm cake tin, pressing firmly.
2. Mix the cream cheese and sugar together thoroughly and then add the coconut and liqueur or powder. Stir in the mashed bananas.
3. Melt the chocolate over water on the stove or in the microwave. (See note below). Add to the cream cheese mix, stirring carefully to combine.
4. Soak the gelatin in the water till softened and then heat gently to dissolve. (Or follow the package directions for your form of gelatin.) Add to the mix along with the whipped cream.
5. Spread the mixture over the crumb base and put in the fridge till set, about 6-12 hours.
6. To serve: remove and place on a serving platter. Slice the banana (if using) and sprinkle with lemon juice to avoid it going brown and then use to decorate the cake. Use melted chocolate to decorate and / or whipped cream.

Enjoy!!!!

NOTES:
I don’t really like pudding and cakes, but I must say that this was VERY good indeed. It might look like a long list of ingredients, but it actually was relatively quick to make. I found the original recipe in my German “Schokolade” cookbook (by Parragon) and have adapted it slightly.

- When crushing biscuits in a plastic bag, do not fill the bag too much and hold it closed rather than sealing it. My first attempt at what seemed like an easy task of biscuit crushing resulted in me spraying the kitchen with cookie crumbs…I sealed the bag and then proceeded to violently beat it with the rolling pin. Needless to say, the bag popped and the kitchen needed vacuuming from head to toe.

- I increased the quantities to make a 26cm size cake rather than a 20cm cake. Hey, you can always freeze the rest. Just reduce the quantities by a third to make the smaller size.

- They used fresh coconut, but seeing as I didn’t have one I used regular shop bought desiccated coconut and was very happy with the result. Should you have a fresh coconut then use freshly grated instead. To open a fresh coconut, stick a sharp object or knife into the 2 “eyes” and then pour off the liquid before banging it with a hammer. I have tried this before piercing and pouring and all I can say is just don’t!

- I substituted coconut powder for coconut liqueur as once again I didn’t have any available, but I am sure it is great with the added alcohol. I’ll try it again sometime with alcohol and then tell you how it went. Or better yet, you try it with alcohol and tell me what you think!

- If using the microwave to melt the chocolate, put it in for a minute and then another minute until it has melted. If you leave it in for too long, it will burn and the microwave will stink (and I specifically use the word stink) for weeks. It gets into the air vents of the microwave and refuses to leave. Hear experience talking?!

- I used whipped cream to decorate as I had used up all the bananas I had in the cake and before they melted (it was a long evening!) it looked very nice! If using whipped cream, put it on just before serving.