Ackee Honey Cheesecake is a dream: honey sweetened silky ackee custard, topped with toblerone whipped cream and baked in a honey graham crust.
The honey is layered throughout from crust to topping but subtly so. The flavour is there, but the final product is not overly sweet.
Can ackee be used for sweet applications?
Whenever met with disbelief that ackee can be used in sweet applications, my recommendation is always the same. Take a piece of ackee, sprinkle it with a tiny bit of sugar and taste the possibilities.
The hubster (Web, my husband) purchased some honey from a retired coworker who to simply say is a lover of bees is the understatement of the year! He never bores of speaking of the little guys and what they can do and was even nice enough to take Web on an impromptu field trip to meet some of his bees 😂. The honey is delicious on its own and I’ll generally enjoy a spoonful by itself or drizzled on buttered toast 😍.
Ackee and honey
Applying my usual advice, I tasted a bit of ackee with honey and said ooooh SNAP!!! I’ve gotta try this in a cheesecake. So not only have I used it to sweeten the filling, I put just a tad in the crust also.
When it comes to cheesecake, I’ve found that oftentimes the crust is overlooked. It’s so easy to make being essentially cookies crumbs and melted butter at its simplest. But adding even just a splash of good vanilla extract can elevate your standard crust to something special. Other additions include ground espresso, cinnamon or citrus zest, let your imagination take you away!
How to make Toblerone whipped cream
Now to the crown of this cheesecake: Toblerone whipped cream. Yup, I pulverised a chocolate bar and added it to whipping cream. I found myself in the chocolate and candy aisle in the grocery store. Which is somewhat strange for me as I typically don’t venture down that one and if I do I never linger there. Because believe it or not, I don’t keep snacks or sweets in my house.
But there I was and I happened to be standing in front the bars of Toblerone (which I developed a thing for when I worked in the Rockies) and thought hmmm, I’m making ackee cheesecake with honey, Toblerone is milk chocolate with honey (and nougat) why not? and so the idea was born. The Toblerone pieces give a nice speckled effect to the whipped cream and as the it melts on your tongue so too the chocolate pieces, which candy bar shall I pulverise next 😏
What do you think? As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below, if you make this or any of the recipes from this site be sure to #amazingackee so I can see your posts across social media.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
Ackee Honey Cheesecake with Toblerone Whipped Cream
Ingredients
For the crust
- 200 g Honey graham cracker crumbs about 2 cups
- 113 g Unsalted butter, melted 1 stick
- 2 tsps Honey
For the cheesecake
- 350 g Cream cheese
- 200 g Parboiled ackee
- 100 g Honey* see recipe notes
- 1 Egg
- 1 Yolk
- 2 tsps Flour** optional, see recipe notes
For the whipped cream
- 1 cup Heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsps Honey
- 1/2 bar Toblerone, cold (that’s the 3.5oz/100g bar)
For serving
- Honey as needed
Instructions
For the crust:
- Mix together all ingredients and press into a lined 6-inch baking tin or springform pan
- Chill while working on the filling
For the cheesecake filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Add ackee to food processor and blend till smooth. Then add cream cheese and honey blending till smooth.
- Scrape the sides of the food processor then blend in the eggs. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the chilled crust
- Bake in a water bath: Place cheesecake in a larger pan or roasting dish with enough room to fit water to come up to the side of the pan. Put both pans in oven then fill the larger pan with warm water.
- Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 300F and bake for another 40 minutes till set, the cheesecake should have a dainty jiggle towards the centre
- When done, run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to help release the cake from the edge of the pan and prevent cracking as it cools.Turn off oven and use a wooden spoon to prop the oven door open. Let the oven cool completely before removing the cheesecake (this residual heat continues to cook the cheesecake)
- Once the oven has cooled off. Remove cheesecake from water bath and chill overnight till set
For the whipped cream
- Break Toblerone up and blitz in food processor into tiny chips
- Combine whipping cream and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
- Begin whipping cream, once the cream starts to thicken with the whisk leaving trails as it mixes add the Toblerone then whip to medium-stiff peaks
To finish:
- Decorate the top of the cheesecake with the Toblerone whipped cream and drizzle or serve the cheesecake slices with honey