I’m slowly realising that summer is coming to an end… this is making me sad and so therefore making these treats will remind of those warm sunny days!
Cherry Season is nearly over so why not make the most of this delicious fruit by making them into these very snack-able cheesecake squares! Cherries are a wonderfully versatile fruit and work really well in a cheesecake, the sweetness and sharpness of cherries, balance out the richness of the cheesecake really well, making it a match made in heaven! These cheesecake squares are really easy to make, and what makes them even easier is that you don’t need to bake them! You can make this dessert in advance and leave to set overnight so there is no stress on the day.. How great is that?!
This recipes uses a simple digestive biscuit base with a cream cheese filling flavoured with a cherry curd. I found this wonderful cherry curd in a local shop on my holidays in Yorkshire, it is so delicious and so pink in colour, I just had to bake with it! Now, I understand that Cherry curd may be a little challenging to buy, so please use cherry compote/jam as a substitute. You can easily buy this as well as make it with no problem at all.
If you are up to making it then I recommend you chopping up about 400g fresh cherries and placing them in a pan with 200g Caster sugar, bringing this to a boil and cook until jammy and thick. This will work perfectly and is a great way to use up those left over cherries if you have any!
SO WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS?
- Digestive Biscuits
- Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Double Cream
- Gelatine Leaves
- Cherry Curd/Compote
- Caster Sugar
- Cherries
- Vanilla
Cherry Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients
Base
- 400 g Digestive Biscuits
- 90 g Butter
Cheesecake
- 300 g Double Cream
- 120 g Double Cream
- 2.5 leaves Gelatine
- 450 g Cream Cheese
- 130 g Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 90 g Cherry Curd or Compote
- 100 g Cherry Curd for swirling
Instructions
Make the Base:
- Firstly, using a food processor or a rolling pin and a plastic bag, blitz the digestive biscuits to a fine crumb
- Melt the butter in a small pan and add to the digestive crumbs and mix well.
- Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper, pour the biscuit crumb mix into the tin and press into the corners and distribute evenly. Place in the fridge to set completely
Make the Cheesecake:
- In a small bowl, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until the gelatine is soft
- In a small pan, heat up the 120g double cream until simmering. Add the softened gelatine and mix until the gelatine has dissolved.
- In a free-standing mixer with the whisk attachment whisk the 300g of double cream to soft peaks. Transfer to another bowl. No need to clean the bowl.
- In the bowl again, add the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and 90g cherry curd and whisk until well incorporated
- Fold the cream into the cream cheese mix until all combined.
- Pour this cream cheese mixture on top of the chilled biscuit base and spread over until well distributed. Add dollops of the remaining curd and swirl into the cheesecake.
- Place in the fridge for a couple hours until completely set.
- Once set remove carefully from the tin and slice into squares using a hot knife