Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. This time I used a shallow 9 inch square tin. Grease it and lay piece of baking paper at the bottom, slightly extending the sides. Depending on the size of your cheesecake, you might want a smaller tin to bake thicker brownies.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler), then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until the sugar has been incorporated. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula before gently folding in the flour till combined. Try not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15 to 25 minutes until the center is just firm to the touch. The insides will still be slightly wet so don’t use the tooth-pick test – it won’t be accurate! Set the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.
Refrigerate the brownies until cold, and using a pizza cutter or anything you like, cut the brownies into cubes until they amount to 1 heaping cup - or into shapes if you fancy. Let the remaining brownies make their way into your stomach while you prepare the crust and the cheesecake. (:
Crust
I used a mix of chocolate digestive biscuits and teddy biscuits. Graham crackers work well too.
Set 4 4-inch ring moulds into a baking sheet. Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of the ring moulds. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours. If you fancy, use a 8-inch springform pan.
Cheesecake
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then beat in eggs, 1 at a time, and then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
Fold brownie cubes in very gently. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until cake is set but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken. Let cool completely on a rack. Transfer (with the ring moulds) onto a new clean plate and refrigerate overnight.
Serve
To serve, remove the cheesecakes from the refrigerator and leave it out for 15 minutes. Using a hot damp tea towel or hair-dryer, warm the outsides of the ring moulds and gently remove the ring moulds. Serve in whichever way you like. (: