Peanut Butter Cookie Chocolate Cheesecake

... AKA the Stuff of Dreams!

Cheesecake-topped cookie? Cookie-based cheesecake?

I 'invented' this delightful heart-attack-on-a-plate in a spurt of creativity, borne from the monotonous drudgery of Equity and Trusts revision. What can I say? I really needed chocolate!

It's basically what it says in the title - indulgent chocolate cheesecake with a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie base. The saltiness of the squidgy, chewy peanut butter cookie contrasts beautifully with the rich, tangy sweetness of the chocolatey cream cheese on top - Heaven!

Birthday - Lime and Coconut Cupcakes

I have been revising pretty constantly for my up-coming exams (hence the absence of posts recently) but it was my birthday on Thursday, so my parents, brother, my boyfriend and I went out in the evening for tapas at El Coto in Newcastle. The restaurant is amazing and has separate gluten-free and dairy-free menus with lots of choice, so that was great... unfortunately, like almost every eatery I've visited, the desert menu had nothing to offer me and my dietary issues - sob!

So, about 45 minutes before I was due to leave my revision notes for the restaurant, I decided to bake something sweet that everyone could enjoy after the meal - these moist, delicately-flavoured cakes were made in my speediest ever baking session! 

And I still had time to change into my party outfit... for a girl that normally takes at least an hour faffing about getting ready, I was proud to say the least!