Blackcurrant Cheesecake
I couldn't find a recipe I liked for a blackcurrant cheesecake so I have cobbled together a tried and tested basic vanilla recipe with a jelly topping. I haven't used any cream in this recipe as we all really like it without. You could use low fat cream cheese and any fruit topping that you fancy!
Crust-
150g digestive biscuits
2 1/2 ounces butter
Filling-
3 gelatine leaves
500g soft cream cheese
250g mascarpone
3 1/3 ounces gold caster sugar
1tsp vanilla paste
Topping-
200g fresh or frozen blackcurrants
caster sugar (to taste) (I used about 5 tbsp)
2 gelatine leaves
1. Whiz the digestive biscuits into crumb in a food processor.
2. Melt the butter then combine with the biscuit crumb. Using the back of a spoon spread the crumb into the base of a 7 and 1/2 inch, deep spring form cake tin ( I lined mine with baking parchment as it makes it easier to release). Gently press the crumb down with the spoon so it compacts down to form the base. Refrigerate.
3. Cut the gelatine into strips and soak in cold water for 5 minutes until soft, then drain off the water and add two tablespoons of boiling water and stir until dissolved.
4. Place the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar in a sauce pan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cheese has liquified. Add the vanilla paste and whisk to remove any lumps. The mixture should be warm, a similar temperature to the gelatine. Beat in the gelatine and pour into the tin on top of the crumb base. Refrigerate until set, I left mine over night but a couple of hours should be ok.
5. For the topping, take a small handful of the blackcurrants and remove the stalks and tufty brown bits, rinse and make sure any leaf or stalk has been removed, then set aside. Place the remainder of the fruit in a sauce pan with the sugar and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved then start squashing the fruit with a fork whilst still heating to release all the juices. When the fruit is soft and pulpy taste to test for sweetness, I like the fruit to be quite tart but you can add more sugar if you like. Allow the fruit to cool a bit then pass through a nylon sieve, pressing down until only the pips and stalky bits remain.Cut the two sheet of gelatine into strips and soak in cold water then mix with a tablespoon of boiling water to dissolve. Put the sieved juice back in a clean pan with the set aside whole fruit and gently heat until the whole fruit has softened, be careful not to cook it too long or the fruit will go to mush. Finally mix the gelatine with the juice and fruit mixture and allow to cool to just warm then pour over the top of the cheesecake making sure the whole fruit are evenly distributed across the top. Refrigerate for couple of hours.
6. Make sure the jelly top has fully set before running a knife around the edge of the tin and then carefully release the spring form, using baking parchment stops the cheesecake from sticking to the tin and pulling apart when released. Finally remove the baking parchment and enjoy!
