Turkish Delight Cheesecake

Turkish Delight Cheesecake

250g digestive biscuits
80g butter, melted
50ml water
10g powdered gelatine
450g cream cheese
10ml + 5ml rose water
160ml cream
2 x 80g packets jelly, cherry flavour

Spray a 22cm loose bottom cake tin with cooking spray.
Break up the digestive biscuits and add them to a food processor. Blitz to fine crumbs.
Melt the butter and drizzle it in with the engine running.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, spread it out evenly and press down. Refrigerate until needed.
Pour the water into a smal bowl and sprinkle the gelatine on top. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixed fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft.
Add the icing sugar and beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl down every now and then.
Add the 10ml rose water and mix through. Set aside.
Add the cream to a large bowl and whisk to form soft peaks.
Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Melt the gelatine in the microwave – a few seconds!!! It should be liquid and dissolved.
Scoop 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture into the gelatine and mix well.
Now add this mixture to the cream cheese mixture and thoroughly fold through.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Prepare the jelly according to packet instructions and stand to cool but not set.
Add the 5ml rose water once the mixture is cooled and pour on to the cheesecake.
Refrigerate until set.


Chocolate Honeycomb Cheesecake

Chocolate Honeycomb Cheesecake

This recipe is a quick version of a burnt Basque cheesecake which one sees in almost every market on the French coastal region. The top of the cheesecake is supposed to be completely black, hence the name!

750g cream cheese, at room temperature
250g caster sugar
5 eggs
100g chocolate (honeycomb flavour), chopped
375ml cream
30ml cocoa powder, sifted
5ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
honeycomb or honeycomb chocolate (Crunchie), broken into pieces
60g chocolate (honeycomb flavour), melted

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a 22cm loose bottom cake tin with aluminium foil – this will prevent the cheesecake batter from leaking. Line the “foiled” cake tin with baking paper.
Add the cream cheese and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Beat on high speed until the mixture is smooth and forms soft peaks.
Turn the mixer to a low-medium speed and add the eggs one at a time.
Add the chocolate and cream to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted.
Take the bowl from the heat and add the cocoa powder, vanilla an a pinch of salt. Stir through.
Turn the mixer onto a low speed and pour in the chocolate mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60 minutes.
DO NOT PANIC WHEN YOU SMELL THE CHEESECAKE BURNING!!
Remove the cake from the oven and cool it completely. The cheesecake will have a wobbly centre when removed from the oven.
Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Place the cheesecake on a serving plate.
Pour over the melted chocolate and scatter the broken honeycomb.

Quick-Bake Cheesecake

Quick-Bake Cheesecake

This is a small cheesecake that serves about 8 people with a taste-size portion which makes it ideal to serve with tea. It goes against cheesecake rules as it is baked in quite a hot oven and not in a baine Marie, has no eggs in it and is sweetened with condensed milk.

200g digestive biscuits
80g butter, melted
250g cream cheese, room temperature
1 x 385g can of condensed milk
125ml lemon juice
fresh fruit to serve

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 25cm x 11cm x 7cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the digestive biscuits and butter to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a texture that resembles wet sand.
Line the baking tin with the mixture, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Put aside.
Add the cream cheese and condensed milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Set the mixer on high speed and mix until the cream cheese is smooth – scrape the bowl down once or twice.
Now set the mixer on a low speed and drizzle in the lemon juice. Mix until fully incorporated and you have a smooth mixture.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 30 minutes.
Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside until it has cooled completely.
Place the cheesecake on a serving dish and arrange fresh fruit on top before serving.