Recipes

Summer berry cheesecake

A cheesecake is always a party pleaser and this one is no exception. Rather than a biscuit base a homemade nutty sunflower seed granola base has been made then flavoured with cocao for a chocolately hit and topped with a creamy smooth cheesecake speckled with jewel like raspberries and a smooth thin elegant strawberry jelly topping.

Cuts into 10 slices

Prep: 35 minutes

Cook: 8-10 minutes

Chill: 4-6 hours or overnight

 

Granola base

25g/1oz sunflower seeds

50g/2oz unblanched almonds

100g/4oz porridge oats

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil

2 tbsp runny honey

2 tsp cocao powder

 

Cheesecake

5 sheets of gelatine

450g/1lb strawberries, hulled, halved

100g/4oz caster sugar

1 lemon, grated zest and juice

250g/9oz mascarpone cheese

250g/9oz ricotta cheese

150g/5oz 0% fat free Greek yogurt

200ml/7fl oz double cream

150g/5oz raspberries

 

To decorate

Few extra halved strawberries and raspberries

1. To make the granola, preheat the oven to 80oC/160oC fan assisted/Gas mark 4. Lightly oil a 22cm/81/2 inch springform tin.
2. Add the sunflower seeds, almonds and porridge oats to a food processor or liquidiser and blitz until finely chopped.
3. Add the butter, oil and honey to a small saucepan and warm together. Take off the heat and stir in the oat mixture. Tip into the oiled tin and press into an even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with the cacao and leave to cool and harden.
4. To make the cheesecake, add the gelatine sheets to a large shallow dish, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes or so.
5. Add the strawberries, 3 tbsp water and half the sugar to a saucepan, simmer for 4- minutes until the strawberries are soft. Puree in a food processor or liquidiser until smooth then press through a sieve back into the saucepan. Lift the soaked gelatine sheets out of the water, add to the hot strawberry puree and stir until dissolved. Pour into a measuring jug and stir in the lemon juice. You should have 450ml/3/4 pint, if you are a little short mix in a little water. Leave to cool.
6. Add the remaining sugar and lemon zest to a large mixing bowl. Spoon in the mascarpone cheese, ricotta and yogurt. Beat together until smooth then gradually whisk in the cream until thick and smooth.
7. Whisk in 150ml/1/4 pint of the strawberry puree then gently fold in the raspberries. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top flat. Stir an extra 5 tbsp of cold water into the remaining strawberry puree then slowly pour this over the top of the cheesecake to make a thin even layer.
8. Chill the cheesecake for at least 4-6 hours, longer if time until set. To serve, run a thin wetted knife around the top of the jelly and sides of the cheesecake to loosen. Unclip the tin and transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate. Smooth the sides of the cheesecake with a knife if needed then decorate the top with extra strawberries and raspberries. Cut into slices to serve.