Today was the first day in ages where we have had remotely decent weather, so hubbie and I went to the PYO farm to get some raspberries and blackcurrants. Raspberries are my favourite fruit in the world and I could easily eat a punnet to myself.
Initially I was a bit stumped as what to do with the blackcurrants until I had a brainwave...cheesecake! Easy I thought, until I tried to find a basic cheesecake recipe without geletin. Even Nigella let me down, but good old Hugh F-W came to my rescue. I've tweaked his recipe very slighty so here is my version. Little did I know at this time there was a whole feature in this months GFM about making the perfect cheesecake, oh well!
Blackcurrent Cheesecake
(serves around 8)
150g butter, plus extra for greasing tin
180g (about 20) ginger biscuits, finely crushed
350g full fat cream cheese (low fat won't work as well)
150g caster sugar (I used my vanilla sugar)
rind of 1 lemon
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml double cream
250g blackcurrants
3 tbsp icing sugar
1) Butter base and sides of a 19cm diameter springform cake time. Wrap outside with tin foil.
2) Melt better slowly. Take of heat and add crushed biscuits. Mix well. Press crumbs into tin base. Chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
3) While base is cooling, preheat oven to 160oc. Beat together cream cheese and caster sugar until smooth and creamy.
4) Break 1 egg into bowl and mix until everything is well combined. Repeat with other egg. Beat in yolks one at a time along with vanilla and lemon zest.
5) Gently stir in cream. Pour mix onto chilled base. Stand cake tin in roasting tin. Poyr 1-2 of hot (not boiling) water into roasting tin.
6)Cook for 30-40 min. It is ready when firm around the outside and wobbles in the middle. It will finish setting as it cools down. Once the cheesecake is cooked, take out of the roasting tin and leave to cool on a rack
7) Place blackcurrants and icing sugar in a pan. Add a dash of hot water. Slowly heat up. The berries will eventually begin to break down and you are left with a compote. Pour over cooling cheesecake. Chill for atleast 2 hours before removing springform tin.
Oh spot the new posh plates we had as a wedding pressie!
Tomorrows challenge: meringues with the left over egg whites.
