Sunday 24 June 2012

Baked Strawberry & Lime Mascarpone Cheesecake


This is such a delicious baked cheesecake, fluffy and creamy with that crunchy biscuit base and the sweetness of strawberry undercut by a soft citrus tang. There's nothing more to say really except dig in!








Recipe
Adapted from Olive Magazine July 2005, listed at BBC Good Food Online. See the recipe here.
Serves 8

8 or 9 digestive biscuits
600g mascarpone cheese or other cream cheese
50g butter
175g caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
quarter of a teaspoon vanilla extract
300g strawberries total: 150g for cake, 150g for topping
zest and juice of 1 lime
142 ml sour cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar



1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan) and get out a 20cm cake tin.

2. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a sealed plastic bag and attacking them with a rolling pin (this is very enjoyable, a good way of getting rid of any grievances of the day).

3. Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat. Mix the crushed ground biscuits with the butter.

4. Press the biscuit butter mixture into the cake tin, making sure it covers the bottom evenly. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes, then take out and leave to cool.








5. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, lime zest and juice, eggs and egg yolk. Beat until fluffy.

6. Add half the berries (150g), stirring them gently into the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the tin, making sure it covers all the biscuit base, and smooth down the top.

8. Bake for approx 40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cheesecake is set but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Leave the cake in the tin to cool. Ideally, once the cheesecake is cool, you can put it in the fridge to help it set overnight, before adding the topping the next day when ready to serve.




for the topping:
the rest of the strawberries (150g)
handful wild strawberries and their flowers, optional



9. However if you want to serve the cake on the same day, then you can get straight on with the topping. Slice the remaining strawberries thinly. When the cake is cool, place the slices in concentric circles over the cake, ending in the middle.


10. Add a few wild strawberries and their flowers to decorate if you like, then keep in the fridge until serving.








This cheesecake was idly baked while listening to Florence & The Machine play Ceremonials