Monday 1 July 2013

Easy peasy lemon cheesy

This recipe came from a booklet entitled 'Princess Recipes'. "What ho" I thought, "Has the great food guru Pippa Middleton been exploiting her connections once again?" No, instead it was a pamphlet by Annabel Karmel, presumably designed to put boys off cooking for life, and containing some of her trademark easy-and-delicious-for-all-ages confections such as mini lemon no-bake cheesecakes.

My first introduction to cheesecake was the packet mix. Fun to make (as a child), vile to eat. Some years later, living in southern California, I encountered The Cheesecake Factory. Not actually a factory, but a restaurant chain where they serve very large portions of cheesecake - among other things. I went a few times before summoning up the courage to order it, and have never looked back. If you don't like cheesecake, just make the topping and serve it chilled, in glasses, with the blueberries.

I made these cheesecakes mini by using two 10cm springform tins (bought because they looked like toys and I fancied making a cutesy mini Victoria sponge). The recipe serves four and can also be used in individual ring moulds (if you're a pro) or ramekins - or scale it up, make double and pile it into a 20-ish-cm tin.

Lemon cheesecake garnished with bluberries
Sweet yet tart, smooth yet crunchy


Mini lemon no-bake cheesecakes


5 Digestive biscuits (70g)
50g butter
4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
150g lemon curd
1 teaspoon lemon juice
125ml double cream, whipped
a few raspberries or blueberries

Melt the butter. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin, then stir them into the butter. Press them firmly into the base of your chosen vessel, then place in the fridge to cool while you make the topping. Combine the yogurt, lemon curd and lemon juice in a bowl, fold in the whipped cream and spoon it on top of the biscuit base. Return it to the fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with the fruit and sprinkle with icing sugar.

No comments:

Post a Comment