Strawberry and Vanilla Cream Cheesecake

Strawberries and cream, chocolate and cherries, champagne and me. Some things in life are made for each other.

On this most mooshy of days, I am adding my dash of sweetness with this cheesecake recipe.

If you live in Sydney, you can sample this week at Thelma & Louise, Neutral Bay, along with these cute mini heart cupcakes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Larissa x

Strawberry and Vanilla Cream Cheesecake
(Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's vanilla cheesecake in his book, "Cook with Jamie," 2006)
** To make 12 small cheesecakes as I did, halve the quantities

Base:
250g plain sweet biscuits (I used Digestives)
150g butter, melted

Cheesecake:
115g caster sugar
3 tablespoons cornflour
900g cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 large eggs
120ml double cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of 1 lemon

Strawberry topping:
400g strawberries, sliced
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 gold grade gelatine leaves

Preheat oven to 180C.
Grease a 24cm springform cake tin with non-stick spray and line the base with non-stick baking paper. (If making 12 small cheesecakes, grease 12 small loose bottomed quiche tins. Don't bother with lining the bases.)
Crush biscuits in a food processor and mix with melted butter.
Press mixture into the base of prepared tin (or small tins) and bake for 10 mins. Allow to cool.
For filling, place sugar and cornflour in bowl of electric mixer and stir to combine.
Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Add the eggs and beat until combined, followed by the cream, vanilla and zest, beating until smooth and creamy.
Spoon mixture into the biscuit base (or bases) and then gently shake to even out the surface.
Place cake tin(s) in the centre of the oven and, if making a large cake, bake for 40 to 45 mins until top is golden brown and filling has set around the edges. If making small cakes, bake for 18 minutes.
Allow cake(s) to cool in the tin before placing in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
For topping, place strawberries and sugar in a saucepan with a dash of water and bring to a simmer on a medium heat. Simmer gently for about 10 mins.
When strawberries are done, soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 mins.
Squeeze the leaves out gently and add them to the strawberries, stirring until combined.
Spoon the berry mixture onto the top of the cheesecake(s) and put back in the fridge until set (2-3 hours.)
Serve with a dollop of double cream.