Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 12
250g chocolate sponge cakes
150g unsalted butter, softened
400g dark chocolate
600g cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)
160g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
4 eggs
1 piece stem ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Grated zest of 1 organic lemon
Edible gold leaf and berries, to decorate
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. For the base, break up the cakes in a bowl and mix in 100g of the butter.
2. Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Press the base mixture firmly into the tin with the back of a spoon. Wrap the outside of the tin in a single sheet of foil to make it watertight.
3. Break up the chocolate and melt in a bain-marie with the rest of the butter. Mash the cheese in a bowl with a fork. Add the sugars and then the eggs, beating until smooth and aerated, then mix in the melted chocolate, ginger and lemon. Pour the mixture into the tin, then place on a baking tray filled with hot water. Bake for 1 hour. When it is cooked, the cake will still be slightly wobbly in the centre.
4. Refrigerate immediately to prevent the cake cracking, and leave overnight. To serve, lift the ring from the base of the tin and serve sprinkled with berries and gold leaf.
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