This wonderful cheesecake just melts in the mouth and makes a fabulous dessert or an extra-indulgent afternoon treat. It’s rich, creamy, and with jut the prefect hit of bitter chocolate.

Ingredients: (Serves 8)

• 170 g/6 oz finely ground digestive crumbs
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
• 80 g/3 oz butter, melted
• 200 g/7 oz dark chocolate
• 400 g/14 oz cream cheese
• 240 ml/8 fl oz sour cream
• 140 g/5 oz caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 3 large eggs

Method:

Grease a 20-cm/8-inch round springform cake tin. Mix the crumbs, cocoa powder and melted butter. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom and about halfway up the sides of the cake tin. Chill for 30 minutes. Wrap the tin in two sheets of aluminum foil.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3. Break the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl, then set the bowl over barely simmering water to melt. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Beat the cream cheese until soft, then beat in the sour cream, sugar and cornflour. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the cooled melted chocolate. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and level out. Place the cake tin in a roasting tin and pour boiling water around it to about 2.5 – 3.5 cm/1 – 1½ inch deep.

Bake for about 50 minutes until set (but still with a wobble in the center). Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, turn the cheesecake out and dust with cocoa powder.