Every Christmas (yes, I know we’re in late February) my very kind family always gift me a large box of After Eight Mints, due to my love of all things mint this has practically become a tradition (apart from the disappointing Christmas of 2014 which we shall not mention). Slowly word spread of just how easily pleased this baker is when it comes to gifts & now I find myself with a plethora of bottle green boxes every year.
Normally I am content with devouring half a box of these dark, minty squares without any remorse. However, these thin, little after dinner (any time of day) confections can be a little sickly when consumed in excess. Here we are in February, spring is hinting towards an appearance & I find myself with three large boxes of After Eights still stashed in the pantry. This year, armed with a bowl & a whisk, I decided to try & find an inventive way to use up my surplus stock. Mint is a difficult flavour to work with when it comes to cakes & I already have one of these in my repertoire so I turn to desserts, one of my favourites to be exact.. cheesecake.
Smooth, creamy & with a buttery biscuit base, cheesecake truly is a gratifying treat that I simply cannot refuse. Usually, I favour a cheesecake of the baked variety however this doesn’t always suit fresher flavours. For the cool, refreshing flavour of mint a refrigerated cheesecake is ideal. I have previously concocted a mint cheesecake, however I irresponsibly failed to write down the recipe (this was in my pre-blogging days). All I remember of my minty green dessert was how ridiculously indulgent & moorish each slice was.
Luckily this time around, I learnt from my mistakes & wrote down this wonderfully satisfying recipe for all to try. I you’re lucky enough to have grown up in the UK during the 80’s / early 90’s then you may remember Viennetta. A mint ice-cream cake, only brought out on special occasions such as Christmas & birthdays, it was our version of an elegant dessert. As a child, I would sneak thick slices of this from the freezer when my mother wasn’t looking (although I’m sure I wasn’t the only one). This cheesecake is so reminiscent & similar in flavour as mint Viennetta that I felt the need to covertly devour my dessert behind closed doors.
NO BAKE AFTER EIGHT CHEESECAKE
(makes one 23cm cheesecake)
Ingredients:
For the base:
- 320g bourbon biscuits
- 100g butter
For the filling:
- 600g cream cheese
- 284ml double cream
- 100g icing sugar
- 3 tsp peppermint extract
- A drop of green food colouring
- 150g After Eight mints
For the decoration:
- 150g After Eight mints
- 7 tbsp icing sugar
- A few drops peppermint extract
Method:
- Grease & line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin
- Using a food processor, blitz the biscuits until they resemble fine breadcrumbs
- Gently melt the butter in a small saucepan set over a low heat or in the microwave
- In a bowl, combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter, ensuring that all of the biscuit has been coated by the butter
- Tip the mixture into the prepared tin & use the back of a spoon to press the mixture down evenly into the base of the tin
- To make the filling, add the cream cheese, double cream, icing sugar, peppermint extract & food colouring to large bowl & whisk together until well combined & smooth
- Take 150g (half a box) of the After Eight mints & use your hands to break break them up into irregular sized pieces
- Stir the pieces through the filling & pour this over the biscuit base
- Evenly spread the surface before placing the cheesecake in the fridge & leave to chill overnight
- Bring the cheesecake back to room temperature for 30 minutes before releasing from its tin
- To decorate, use your hands again to break up the rest of the After Eight mints & arrange them in a circle on top of the cheesecake
- Mix the icing sugar with just enough water to make a pourable icing before adding in 1-2 drops of peppermint extract to taste
- Drizzle the icing over the After Eights & serve
I remember Viennetta desserts, my mum used to buy them for special occasions when I was growing up. The youth of today don’t know what they’re missing out on! This After Eight minty cheesecake looks delicious – I’ll have to bookmark this someplace and give it a try when I’m back in the UK when I have more people to consume it with 🙂
Haha Ben Jerry’s just doesn’t have the same class! I’d say it’s perfectly acceptable to devour one by yourself but probably not too good for your health!
Yes please!
My dad is obsessed with any combination of mint + chocolate and my mother is the cheesecake queen so I’ll have to give this one a whirl. Love the pictures!
Thank you, let me know how you get on! 🙂
That almost looks too good to eat. Obviously I would still eat it…
So verily clever!! (And seemingly delicious to boot.)
Thank you 🙂
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I cannot wait to make this for my sons birthday he loves cheesecake and after eights! I was wondering how much of the green food colouring you would need to add to get the exact mint green colour that you have shown in pics, don’t want to add to much or not enough? X
Aw how lovely, in that case I really hope that he enjoys this & had a wonderful birthday!
With the food colouring, a few drops (3-4) should do it but this all depends on the brand, it’s best just to add a couple to begin with, stir it through & repeat this until you get a colour that you’re happy with.
I hope this helps & hope you enjoy! x