Supporting Local in Lockdown Mini Blog #3
This is the third in my “mini blogs” series to spread the word of the amazing local hospitality businesses in our area who will be offering takeaway/delivery services over the coming weeks. I wanted to share my experiences of those I have had this year in condensed write ups to support the industry and also show all the amazing treats we have to choose from!
If there is one positive thing to have come out of this whole lockdown life, it is the rise of sweet treats being delivered straight to your hungry door! The thought of a parcel full of cake sitting on my doorstep is something dreams are made of (mine are anyway) and is enough to make my sweet tooth literally fall out of my mouth, hopefully landing into a slab of cheesecake. To be more precise, cheesecake created by Sasha from Baked with Love.
The Kind Gift of Chocolate
I am going to confess early that I have never really been a massive cheesecake person (shock horror). I am not totally sure why, but it is probably to do with the fact the words “cheese” and “cake” have been combined and that gives me the creeps. However, when you receive a lovely message on Instagram from local Bideford baker Sasha, also known as Baked with Love, gifting you one of her chocolate bake boxes, it is a perfect opportunity to banish those creepy cheesecake feelings. Spoiler alert, her Terry’s Chocolate Orange cheesecake did just that.
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
It was a quiet Saturday morning at the beginning of October when cheesecake came knocking at my door, well, Sasha did, with a large brown box in her hands, filled with goodies and adorned with a simplistic and colourful label. Despite already having eaten breakfast, the delivery was immediately opened by my careful yet eager hands. My senses were hit by a view of pure indulgence and the strong scent of citrus; Terry had entered the kitchen.
The first cheesecake component that caught my eye was the thick biscuit base, golden in colour and the crushed pieces of biscuit exposing a crumbly texture. This biscuit filled foundation was luxuriously buttery, held itself together when pierced with my fork before being knocked down by my bulldozer teeth into crumbling fragments. Like any strong foundation, the immensely satisfying biscuit base held up the main structure; a robust layer of thick chocolate orange speckled cheese based topping, that was as deep as the box was wide (slight exaggeration, but you get my drift; it was DEEP). The opulent cheese layer was rich and creamy whilst being powerful in that famous chocolate orange flavour. The citrus cut through the smooth, velvety cheese and the chocolate pieces that supplied the orange twang provided extra texture and crunch. Combined with the buttery base along with the crafted decoration of brightly coloured chocolate shavings, a swirl of whipped cream and half moon crescent of Terry’s chocolate, I wanted to knock the whole cheesecake building down in just a few bites. This was not a creepy cheese and cake fusion!
It was amazing the chocolate box of dreams lasted approximately three days, especially as the towering cheesecake was accompanied by three glorious chocolatey chums: a light and fluffy chocolate fudge cake; a sticky and fudgy Rolo brownie; and a chewy Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookie. A chocolate lovers dream, most definitely baked with love and certainly the kind of parcel my sweet tooth would love to see on my doorstep again. Thank you Sasha 🙂
Sasha is raising money for FORCE in memory of her Mum, Barbara. Click here to read her story.
One Shy Foodie 