Galaxy Cheesecake

Galaxy is a hugely popular type of chocolate in the UK and worldwide. I know of people from the UK who have moved overseas, and they say Galaxy Chocolate is the number one thing they miss!

Galaxy has a silky smooth texture and extra rich chocolate flavour from a special cooking process. The makers say this brings out the underlying caramel flavour of the milk chocolate, as well as the comforting taste of warm milk.

So, while you can replace the Galaxy in this recipe with regular chocolate, it won't have the same amazing Galaxy flavour.

There are a few golden rules for getting that beautiful, luscious texture. Follow these following steps, and yours will turn out perfectly!

Make sure you give the cheesecake enough time to chill. Around 6 hours in the fridge is a minimum, but preferably overnight to give that perfect firm texture.

Remember to whisk the cheesecake filling properly. If it's under-whisked, it will turn into a grainy, sloppy mess and won’t set properly.

Always use full-fat cream cheese when making a no-bake cheesecake. Another critical point is that using room-temperature cream cheese will yield better results, so leave it out of the fridge for around ½ hour before mixing it into your filling.

No, you only need to use water baths when making baked cheesecakes. This is a no-bake cheesecake.

Always use full-fat cream cheese when making cheesecakes. The reduced-fat cream cheese will produce a grainy and thin filling. Plus, it won't set properly.

Spreadable, full-fat cream cheese from any good supermarket will be fine. In the UK, something like Philadelphia is perfect.

You can go for unsalted butter. That way, you can control the amount of salt in the recipe.

If you have a microwave, a few quick zaps will do it. Place the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and give it a few 30-second blasts, stirring after each burst until melted.

You can melt chocolate using the Double Boiler Method if you don't have a microwave. This is when you place the chocolate in a large bowl and then place this bowl over a simmering pot of water. This prevents the chocolate from burning.

Chilling your cheesecake in the fridge in a suitable airtight container is the best way to store it. You could either use a large cheesecake container or slice up the leftovers and store it in smaller containers.

This Galaxy cheesecake will stay fresh for around 2 to 3 days when you store it in an airtight container in the fridge. I'm willing to bet it won't last that long, though!

No. You shouldn't leave dairy products too long out of the fridge – more than two hours is pushing it. You can leave it out for half an hour or so if you don’t want it fully chilled, but don’t leave it for more than two hours.

While technically, you can freeze this cheesecake, you will lose some beautiful taste and texture. I recommend you enjoy the cheesecake within the first few days of making it.

However, if you decide to freeze this cheesecake for long-term storage, first cut it into slices. Then, flash-freeze the pieces on a baking tray for 30 minutes to an hour. Finally, store them together in an airtight container.

Galaxy cheesecake will be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Yes. All you need to do is to use gluten-free biscuits for the biscuit base.

There are three essential methods when it comes to removing the cheesecake from the tin:

Using a kitchen blowtorch heats the outside of the tin and enables you to remove it from the cheesecake.

You can also use a non-stick palette knife dipped in boiling water. Run it around the edge of the tin, and you can easily remove the cheesecake.

You can also run a cloth soaked in hot water around the edge of the tin.

There are two reasons why cheesecake bases typically fall apart. The first is the ingredients ratio. You need a certain amount of biscuit crumbs to melt the butter (see recipe below) to achieve the right consistency for cheesecake crumbs.

Secondly, your biscuit base needs to be dense and tightly packed. Press your cheesecake base down into the bottom of your springform pan using either the bottom of a large glass or a coffee tamper.

You need to combine the right amount of double cream, icing sugar and vanilla paste to form a sweetened double cream topping with the right soft peak consistency. Then, it all comes down to a piping bag and a little bit of ingenuity. See the pictures for inspiration!

This size of cheesecake contains servings for between 8 to 12 people.