Coffee Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

This recipe has long been overdue. I made this last week which was actually by accident. I was supposed to make Strawberry Cheesecake. I bought all the ingredients from a last minute grocery shopping at M & S and Wilko (just before they were about to close). I was ready to make my cheesecake when I realised that I don't have enough Digestive biscuits (sort of the equivalent for Graham crackers here in the UK) in my cupboard. Luckily, I have some Oreo biscuits left which are supposed to be our baon for morning or afternoon tea at work. But the biscuits were not enough to make an Oreo Cheesecake. Oh no! After some research online, I came across with this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs - www.homecookingrocks.com. I have made some changes depending on the availability of my ingredients.

As I don't have a food processor or mortar & pestle, I have to manually crush the oreos which is a bit of a challenge as they are not as soft as the digestives. Later on, I decided to use a hammer (yes, I've got no choice) to speed things up and to spare my fingers from the arduous task. I also have no electric mixer so I only whip them manually ever since I started baking cheesecakes. For the ingredients, I cannot find cream cheese here so I use soft cheese in all my cheesecakes. According to my research, there is a slight difference but since it's still Philadelphia, I gambled with it. For this recipe, I used creme fraiche (the French version of sour cream but less sour) because I have some leftover and I wanted to see if there is any difference using it rather than the whipping cream. The outcome is much softer but the cake still hardens after you chill it overnight. I used a heart-shaped pan because this is the smallest one I have and I only used half of the original recipe.

Here's the link to the recipe - http://homecookingrocks.com/coffee-cheesecake/ and below is my own version. My husband loved it than my blueberry cheesecake.

Crust:
10 oreo cookies
1/8 c butter

Filling:
2 125g Philadelphia soft cheese (I used light to lessen the guilt : )
1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp coffee
2 eggs
3/4 creme fraiche
1 c double cream

Crush the oreo cookies including the filling. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Chill in the fridge.

Whisk the soft cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour the double cream and creme fraiche. Continue to beat well. Dissolve the coffee in 20ml hot water. Pour into the mixture.

Take the oreo crust from the fridge once hardened and pour in the cheese mixture. To bake in 180C, place the pan in a larger container half-filled with water. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Let it cool then chill overnight. Garnish it with coarsely grated white and dark chocolate pieces & honeycomb bits.