Blackcurrant cheesecake

Photographer: Emma
Serves up to 20

Well I’ve made 3 cheesecakes on the blog recently and I promise this will be the last for at lest 6 months.  This recipe is the one you should turn to when you need to feed masses of people as it holds its form well and keeps for a few days.

Now I used to really dislike cheesecake growing up – around age 20 I developed a ‘sweet tooth’.  I can pin point the time as it was the same time I had all my wisdom teeth out.  I realise now that by getting rid of my ‘wisdom and good sense teeth’ it made way for my ‘love of refined sugar teeth’.
I’d normally suggest eating cheesecake in moderation (especially when this is your third in a couple of months) but to be honest I find it hard to locate that switch that tells you to stop at one piece. 

My advice today is to eat as much cheesecake as you like…..but then you have to run farther and faster than you’ve ever run before.  Life is so mean isn’t it?

INGREDIENTS

For the base
400g biscuits, I used a mixture of digestives and plain arrowroot biscuits
½ cup sugar
200g butter

For the cheese
500g cream cheese
½ cup sugar
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 tbsp gelatine powder
½ cup tepid water
300ml cream, whipped

For the jelly
1 bag blackcurrants
½ cup sugar

METHOD

For the base
1. Blend the biscuits with the sugar and softened butter in a food processor.
2. Line two square cake tins with baking paper (alternatively you can use a square or oblong metal roasting dish).
3. Press the biscuit mixture into the tin(s) and refrigerate.

For the cheese
4.Beat the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth.
5. Mix the gelatine with the water and stir until dissolved. Add this to the cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
6. Whisk the cream to soft peaks and fold through the cream cheese mixture.
7. Spoon this mixture over the biscuit base and place back into the refrigerator.

For the jelly
8. Add the berries and sugar to a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
9. Strain the berries through a fine sieve to remove skin and pips. Throw out the skin and pips and reserve the syrup.
10. Mix 2 tsp gelatine powder with 150ml water and add this to the berry syrup. Stir to combine.
11. Once the mixture is cool you can pour it over the cream cheese and refrigerate again until set.

To serve
12. Slice the cheesecake into squares.