Cherry Cheesecake

mayurisjikoni

8 years ago

EVENT: A- Z CHALLENGE

THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER C

What is the A- Z Challenge? Well, we’re a Facebook group and every alternate month the participants make a dish with the relevant letter. The group was started in May 2018 by Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan. For September we have to post a recipe with the letter C. The star ingredient for the dish should begin with C. I must admit that when I was in Montreal, hubby and I enjoyed all the berries that were in full season. We also had loads of succulent, ruby red, sweet cherries. So cherries is what I used for this theme.

I usually cannot plan well ahead for any of the group events that I’m a member of but this recipe was different. Hubby and son were complaining that this time round I had not made any dessert, didn’t even make my son’s favorite Shrikhand. Just when a week was left before we flew back home, me all emotional and already missing my son and not liking the long distance in between thought of making some dessert. I had to use the loads of cherries that hubby and I had bought from the Jean Talon Market; by the way that’s my favorite place in Montreal, so colorful and full of life and produces that would make any food bloggers eyes pop out.

Making this dessert in Montreal was an absolute breeze. I actually spent more time deciding which cookies I should use and do I need the 2% or 3% whipping cream than on the actual preparation time. Can you believe it that here in Mombasa I find making dessert now a chore as we don’t get fresh cream and when we do it has turned all sour because most supermarkets or stores have a very poor refrigeration system. That’s money down the drain!

Anyway coming back to the simple to make yet absolutely delicious dessert, pitting the cherries was a job. If you’ve got a helpful hubby or family get them to pit the cherries. I purposely didn’t give that task to hubby as there would have been more cherries in his stomach than in the bowl!

Now, lets get to the recipe.

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Makes 4

For the crumb layer or base:

1½ cups cookie crumbs – you can use digestives, oat cookies or any cookies with a coarse crumb

2 tbsp butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

1 cup cream cheese

1 cup whipping cream

⅓ cup icing or powdered sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon juice

For the topping:

2 cups cherries, pitted

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Preparation of the crumb layer:

Take which ever cookies you are using and put them in a ziploc bag and using a rolling pin crush them into a coarse crumb or process them in a food processor. I used coconut oat cookies.
Add the melted butter to the crumbs and mix well.
Divide the crumb equally between four individual serving bowls or glasses.
Lightly press it down using a spoon. Don’t make it too compact.

Preparation of the cheesecake layer:

Whip the whipping cream till it forms soft peaks.
Add sugar to the cream cheese and whip it till it becomes smooth.
Add the lemon juice and zest and give it a whip.
Add the whipped cream and whip to mix.
Spoon the cheesecake into the glasses or bowls in which you’ve already made a layer of the crumbs.
Cover the bowls or glasses with cling film or small lids and let it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Preparation of the topping:

Add all the ingredients into a heavy bottom saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Let it boil for 3 minutes, stirring it frequently so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the heat and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes or till the mixture thickens slightly and the cherries are soft.
Take the pan off the heat. Remove the compote from the pan into a bowl.
Let it cool down completely.

To serve:

Top the cheesecake with the cherry compote.

Decorate with some sliced nuts or grated chocolate or sprinkle some lemon zest over it and serve.

Tips:

The number of cookies required will depend on the size of the cookies. That is why I gave the cup measurement. However, how thick or thin you would like the crumb layer depends on you.
Replace the cherries with other fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, plums etc
I usually don’t like to add too much sugar to desserts. Add sugar according to your taste.

A little request:

If you do try this recipe then please either