Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Cover the outside of a 25cm springform pan with a layer of plastic wrap and several layers of foil. This cheesecake is cooked in a waterbath, and the plastic wrap and foil will help prevent water getting in through the bottom of your pan. Place a circle of baking paper in the bottom of your pan. Pre-heat your oven to 180C (fan forced) and move your rack to the bottom of the oven.

Crush plain chocolate biscuits to crumb and mix through melted butter until crumbs are well coated and damp. Pour into prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to press crumbs down firmly to form cheesecake base.

Melt together chocolate and cream in microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing well between each blast until chocolate has completely melted and mixed with cream. This will help chocolate to mix through cream cheese well without setting and forming tiny chocolate chips throughout the cheesecake.

In a large bowl or a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, vanilla and caster sugar. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time until well incorporated, then beat in the sour cream. Using a spatula, fold the chocolate and cream mixture through the cheesecake base.

Fold Cherries through the mixture. Pour onto the prepared base.

Place cheesecake in it's tin in a large roasting pan and fill with water from a just boiled kettle. The water should come no more than half way up the side of cheesecake tin. Bake cheesecake on the bottom rack of oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The cheesecake will be ready when it's set on the sides but still has a bit of a wobble. Remove from oven and roasting pan and leave to cool on a wire rack in tin. Once cooled, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge overnight to chill.

When you're ready to serve, remove from fridge and run a hot knife around the edge of the tin. Release the sides and use a cake server to carefully transfer your cake to a cake plate or cake stand. Dust with cocoa powder and top with a generous pile of fresh cherries.