Inspiration: Nigeria meets American South
Growing up, I had many Nigerian-American friends. As the largest African immigrant population in the United States, you'll find Nigerians in all corners of the country from New York to DC to even Alaska, where my best friend from college, Ifeoma, is from. Whenever I visited my Nigerian friends at home, I delighted in the delicious snack foods from akara to meat pies to puff puff. One of my favorite tasty treats is chin chin (also called achimon in Ghana, where I moved post-Yale), which is made from basic combination of flour, milk, sugar, eggs, and nutmeg. This cheesecake recipe is an homage to all the aunties that let me eat my weight in chin chin (literally) growing up. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
CRUST
2 cups crushed chin chin (recipe here)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
FILLING:
24 oz soft cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
1 bar of chocolate
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° then butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment.
Put the chin chin in a plastic food bag and crush to crumbs using a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, then pour over the melted butter over the crumbs. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated. Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer. Chill in the fridge for 1 hr to set firmly.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the flour, vanilla, and eggs then beat until blended. Pour into the prepared crust.
Bake 30 minutes or until center is almost set then cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove the sides from the pan and then cool for an additional hour.
In a large heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate with the evaporated milk over low heat; stir until smooth and then spread on top of the cheesecake.
Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight, and then serve!