Easy enough recipe.
line a 7-8" cake tin with tinfoil (makes for easy removal if you dont have a spring side tin)
smash up about 200g of digestives...depends how thick you like your base...easiest way is to empty them into on of those clear freezerbags and bash with a rolling pin...you can roll the pin over it to bash up and smaller chunks and if you hold the bag by the handles and give it a shake any lumps tend to rise to the top making it easier to get rid of them
to the biscuit powder add about 30grams of melted butter...i say about 30 as sometimes you may need a little more depending on your base thickness (ie how many biscuits you originally bashed lol)...mix well, you'll know you have enough butter in when if you press down it just holds together
empty the biscuit mix into the lined rin and press down evenly with the back of a spoon (or your fingers if you really want)...personally i just do a base,some people like to push it up the sides too, but that's up to you. Pop it in the fridge to let it set slightly while you make the filling.
The filling is soooo easy it's unreal. But you do need an electric mixer or whisk...or a handwhisk and a nice helpful friend with amazing biceps :-D
For the basic filling empty 200g of full fat soft cheese into mixing bowl, add in about 2 heaped dessertspoons of icing sugar. (i try not to work in tablespoons as most people dont have them anymore). combine cheese and sugar then add in 1/2 pint (250mls) of double cream...i didnt say it was healthy lol...and whisk.
Make sure to scrape the cheese off the bottom of the bowl so it mixes fully as it does tend to stick to the bottom, but keep whipping until the mixture holds it's shape...think Mr Whippy icecream softness...but be careful not to overwhip as it will turn to butter suddenly, once it gets close turn the speed down or better yet move to hand whisk at that point so you can feel when it's ready.
Empty the mix onto the base and smooth out...pop in fridge till ready to serve.
Now for the experimant bit. Above is the recipe for the basic cheesecake...but we all have our favourite varieties.
The picture of the one i made is a Choc Chip Cheesecake...all i did was grate chocolate and mix it through the filling before emptying it on the base...then a little more chocolate grated on top for decoration...you could also add in a couple of drops of mint flavouring and green colouring and make a mint choc chip cheesecake...cut an after eight in half on the diagonal and serve a slive of cheesecake with a swirl of cream with the after eight half placed artistically in it
If you can get the tins of Carnation Caramel (the cheats way as we always got the tin of condensed milk and boiled it in water for about 4 hours to get the same stuff lol)...you could put a layer of that between the base and filling and/or a thin layer on top.
the traditional topping of mandarin orange segments and grated chocolate is another option.
summer fruits are great too...be it just strawberries or the raspberry/blackberry/strawberry frozen mix. the frozen mix is great as you can take out just enough for what you need, put in a microwavable bowl with a little icing sugar and a splash of water or orange juice, warm until the berries have defrosted and serve a triangle of the plain cheesecake with a little berry sauce thing on the side...add a mint leaf for that proper arty farty look LOL
The list of varieties is almost endless and only limited by imagination...cheesecake is wonderful
:-)
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