As those of you know that follow Fiona Egan Cloughan Farm and Cookery School on twitter,facebook and instagram, this year we were so delighted and proud to be associated with the wonderful Tullamore Show.We sponsored the cheesecake class in the cookery section which as always see's a very large and high standard of entries from all over the country.
But stepping away from all things delicious for the moment, I would wholeheartedly like to congratulate the wonderful committee and team of up to 500 volunteers who give so much of their time to make this one of the best agricultural shows in the country,which by the way takes place on the 2nd Sunday of august each year..You have made over the last 25 years,an enormous contribution to your community,and for all those very proud prize winners and entrants throughout the show in all sections,from all corners of Ireland,this very fine platform would not be possible without the enormous generosity of you guys.In particular I would like to say a big thank you to the committee vice chairperson and head of of the cookery section Brenda Kiernan,you are always improving and keeping up to date in what ever the newest trends are in cake & bake making, but your never without a smile on your face and a generics gratatueed to everybody for all their efforts.
Now getting back to all things cheesecake ,and keeping the buzz of Tullamore going for as long as I can here at our cookery school, I'm going to share with you a yummy Summer Fruits Cheesecake recipe which I make quite often for customers or whenever I am entertaining in our own home.But this dessert of course would make a very welcomed present when visiting friends or loved ones.Its quite simple to make and truly delicious to eat,and as some of you know from one of my previsions blogs I am not a fan of heavy cheesecakes so this one is sure to please those of you with similar pallets as myself.
Fiona
Summer Fruits Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Base
300g digestive biscuits
120g butter melted
Filling:
225g full fat philadelphia creamcheese
125g sugar
1 pint of fresh cream
5 leaves of gelatine
250g frozen or fresh mixed berries (strawberries,raspberries,tayberries,blackcurrents)
Topping
150g frozen or fresh mixed berries ( strawberries,raspberries,tayberries,blackcurrents)
1 leaves of gelatine
2 tabsp sugar
1 tabsp cold water.
Method:
First of all you will need a 9"/23cm spring form tin.
If your using frozen fruits allow sufficient time for them to defrost..
To get started add the digestive biscuit to a plastic bowl,breaking up the biscuits roughly with your hands as you do so.. Using a bottle or a jam jar,start pounding the biscuits so you archive a course crumb.Add the melted butter to the basin and mix well until everything is combined.Turn the biscuit out into the base of the cheesecake tin and press down gently with the back of a dessertspoon making sure that the surface is nice and level and that you have an even depth all over.Refrigerate while preparing your filling.
If your using frozen fruits allow sufficient time for them to defrost..
To get started add the digestive biscuit to a plastic bowl,breaking up the biscuits roughly with your hands as you do so.. Using a bottle or a jam jar,start pounding the biscuits so you archive a course crumb.Add the melted butter to the basin and mix well until everything is combined.Turn the biscuit out into the base of the cheesecake tin and press down gently with the back of a dessertspoon making sure that the surface is nice and level and that you have an even depth all over.Refrigerate while preparing your filling.
Put the mixed fruits into a high sided jug and using a hand held blender,puree until slightly course.Place the leaves of gelatine into a shallow dish a cover fully with cold water to soften for about 10 min's .Place the creamcheese into a bowl along with the sugar and beat with a hand held electric mixer only stopping once to scrape down the sides of your bowl,continue beating until everything is nice and smooth.Add the fresh cream and beat ever so lightly until you have very soft peeks.Remember you don't want to over beat at this stage because you still have more ingredients to add.Squeeze the gelatine and remove the excess water from the dish,add the
gelatine back into the dish along with a tablespoon of cold
water.Microwave for 5-8 seconds until dissolved.Whisk in the melted galatine into the creamcheese mixture and finally fold in the mixed berry puree.Pour the filling on top of the biscuit base and chill overnight.
For your topping, place the leaves of gelatin into a shallow dish a cover fully with cold water to soften for about 10 min's.Puree the fruits in a high sided jug along with the sugar and water.Next squeeze the gelatine and remove the excess water from the dish,add the
gelatine back into the dish along with a tablespoon of cold
water.Microwave for 5-8 seconds until dissolved.Whisk in the melted galatine into the puree fruit.Remove your cheesecake from the fridge and spread the topping evenly and carefully over the surface of your cheesecake with the back of a teaspoon..
Return the cheesecake to the fridge for about an hour or two until set.Once set run a sharp knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the cheesecake and remove from the tin.Carefully slide onto a cake stand or platter.Decorate with a few berries such as strawberries,blueberries,raspberries etc and a little bit of fresh mint.I don't recommend pipping fresh cream on top,but rather serve it on the side of the dessert plate.I just think it takes away from the look of your cheesecake and remember you eat with your eyes.
Enjoy!!
