5/11/2009

Easy Cherry Cheesecake-my best cheesecake ever!

One of my favourite desserts is cheesecake and I really fancied one the other day plus I had some mascarpone that needed using up so decided to go ahead and make one. I remember when I first started making cheesecakes and having a few disasters with them not setting properly, probably due to not using the correct amount of gelatine or not following the instructions 100%. The presentation was awful, like a big gloopy mess but the taste was ok but I seem to have got the knack of making a perfect cheesecake now.



Cherry is one of my favourite toppings for cheesecakes and as there are no fresh cherries in the shops at the moment, I decided to use ready made cherry pie filling/topping, which is great if you don´t have time to make your own. I´ve never used mascarpone in my cheescakes before but as I had some left over, I thought why not and added it and believe me, it was definitely worth it but unfortunately I didn´t weigh it so I´ll have to make a rough guess. I´ll let you know next time I make it how much I use as I´ll definitely be including the mascarpone again. The cheesecake is just so light yet creamy....certainly the best cheesecake I´ve ever made. I guarantee if you make this for your partner/family/friends, it´s going to be a big hit and everyone will be left wanting more. The recipe is loosely based on this Raspberry Ripple Cheesecake recipe from the Cookery club but here is my version:


Cherry Cheesecake (Makes about 12 portions)
Ingredients:

340g cream cheese (such as Philidelphia)
100ml (just over 1/3 cup)double cream
90g (just over 1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
leftover mascarpone *1/3 cup of mascarpone*
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, I´ve heard that vanilla extract is stronger so put less)
1 sachet of gelatine
90g/3oz butter
220g/8 oz digestive biscuits
Topping:
1 595g/21oz can of cherry pie filling/topping

Method:
1. Melt butter in a pan, taking care not to brown.
2. Crush biscuits into crumbs using food processor, blender or place in plastic bag and use rolling pin to bash or roll the biscuits (be careful with the latter method as bag may split and crumbs will go everywhere!)
3. Combine butter and biscuit crumbs and then spread evenly into a 9inch, 22.8cm cake tin and place in fridge.
4. Beat cream cheese in a medium sized bowl.
5. Beat in cream, sugar, mascarpone and vanilla extract till smooth.
6. Prepare gelatine according to instructions on packet (in this case add 1 cup boiling water to gelatine and stir till completely dissolved, about 5 mins)
7. Add gelatine to cheesecake mixture and slowly beat in, the mixture will appear very liquidy, like cream.
8. Spoon on top of the biscuit base and refrigerate for 2-3 hrs, until set.
9. Open can and spoon cherry topping over cheesecake, refrigerate until serving.
10. Enjoy!









7 comments:

  1. Hola Tracey:

    Qué buena tiene que estar, te ha quedado maravillosa. Me llevo un trozo que yo ya no tengo. Besos mil.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gracias, tartasacher! Ya tampoco nos queda, se va muy rápido cuando está tan buena ; ) Besos!

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  3. A beautiful cheesecake - I just love the cherry topping, YUM

    Apologies for not calling by earlier due to my back circumstances.

    Rosie x

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  4. Thanks,Rosie! No problem, I completely understand and hope your back troubles are better now.Can´t think of a better topping than cherry ; )

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  5. I love cheesecake and always use mascarpone, looks delish! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hola Tracey:
    Gracias por tu comentario y aunque tu blog esté en inglés voy a ponerlo y puedes entrar y participar en Todochef. Besos mil

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Anne! The mascarpone makes a big difference and I´ll definitely be including it in my cheesecakes in future!

    Tartasacher- muchas gracías! Ya ha registrado en Todochef..está muy bien y interessante. A ver, si pongo un link en mí blog pero no soy muy technical así que pueda que tarde!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Please feel free to leave your comments-would love to have any feedback-thanks!

 
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