What dreams are made of…
Extracted from: Baking With Jackie Cameron, which has recently been named the best pastry book in the world in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2017.
Fridge cheesecake with blueberry coulis
Ingredients
- 200 g packet tennis biscuits
- 100 g salted butter, melted
- 500 g plain smooth cream cheese
- 150 g icing sugar, sifted
- 90 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- zest of 3 lemons
- 200 ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks
- 15 ml water
- 5 g gelatine powder
BLUEBERRY COULIS
- 350 g fresh/frozen blueberries
- 200 g castor sugar or icing sugar
Instructions
Combine the biscuits and melted butter in a blender or processor and pulse until semi-fine. Line the base of a 22 cm round glass dish or pie plate with the biscuit mixture and place in the fridge to firm up.
Whisk the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice and zest together.
Fold in the whipped cream. Set aside.
Place the water in a small bowl, sprinkle over the gelatine and leave to sponge for 5 minutes. Heat gently over a pan of simmering water, stirring continuously until the gelatine has dissolved (or place in a small bowl and microwave on high in short bursts, taking care not to overheat it).
Place 250 ml of the cream cheese mixture in a small saucepan and heat. When hot, add the gelatine mixture, stirring well. Cool slightly, then combine with the rest of the cream cheese mixture, stirring slowly to ensure the gelatine is evenly distributed.
Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the biscuit base. Place in the fridge overnight, or until set.
Blend or crush 250 g of the blueberries with the icing sugar. Press through a sieve to remove the skins and pulp.
Place the juice in a saucepan and heat until reduced to about 150 ml; it should thicken as it cooks.
Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining whole blueberries.
Allow the coulis to cool down completely before spooning over the top of the cheesecake.
Notes
• Frozen berries work best. • The recipe makes 1 cheesecake – so either 8 large slices or 12 smaller slices. • The cheesecake recipe is EASY to make and requires 30 minutes + overnight, to set. • This cheesecake is my all-time cheesecake recipe. My granny Kay just loved cheesecake and wherever we went together, this was her order. I, hence, got to taste many a cheesecake and we often spoke about what makes a cheesecake memorable. A rich, buttery tennis biscuit base and a super-tart cheesecake are key elements to a winning recipe. We even include lemon zest to add a zesty freshness. We mustn’t forget the blueberry coulis topping – this balance of smooth and chunky allows for every mouthful being interesting on the palate. • We work on 1 sheet gelatine/2 g gelatine powder/3 ml gelatine – just in case one has sheets instead of powder. • We also sometimes make these into mini cheesecakes for high tea tables.
Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
