Blackcurrant Cheesecake Food

BLACKCURRANT MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over gentle heat then take off the heat and stir-in the biscuit curmbs. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a greased loose-bottomed 20cm cake tin. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.
• Remove the vanilla seeds: Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways, leaving the tip intact, so that the two halves are still joined. Holding onto the tip of the pod, scrape out the seeds using the back of a kitchen knife.
• Make the filling: Place the soft cheese, sugar and vanilla seeds in a bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Tip in the cream and continue beating until the mixture is completely combined. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix.
• Now spoon the cream mixture onto the biscuit base, working from the edges inwards and making sure that there are no air bubbles. Smooth the top of the cheesecake down with the back of a dessert spoon or spatula. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.
• Carefully lift from the tin and set on a work top. Pipe the whipped cream as a border around the edge of the top of the cheesecake then fill the centre with the stewed blackcurrants. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours and serve.
• To stew blackcurrants: use 250 gms blackcurrants (tinned, frozen or fresh) add 3 Tbs water and 3 Tbs sugar, bring to the boil and then simmer until the currants burst and then reduce down slightly to get rid of most of the liquid.

BLACK CURRANT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Put a pan on low heat and melt the butter.
• Take the pan off the heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs and the ground almonds.
• Spread the biscuity base mixture, covering the bottom of each ramekin, smooth down.
• Put in fridge to cool.
• Pour the double cream into a bowl and whisk until stiff but don't let curdle.
• Stir in the cream cheese.
• Combine most of the sieved blackcurrants until it all turns a rich purple colour and reaches a fairly thick consistency.
• Fetch the bases from the fridge and pour in a thin layer of the pureed blackcurrants then evenly fill the ramekins up to the rim with the cheese cake topping.
• Smooth off the top with a palette knife and carefully marble in whatever remains of the blackcurrant puree.
• Slice up the Kiwi and serve with kiwi and a few whole black currants.
• Return to fridge until ready to serve.
• Consume!

JULIA'S B'CURRANT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• To make the cheese part, blend the cottage cheese until smooth and then mix this together with the Total, the cornflour and the Canderel in a mixer or by hand
• dissolve the jelly in 100ml of 'just boiled' water. When dissolved top up to 150ml with cold water
• pour the jelly mixture into the cheese mixture and mix well with mixer or by hand - can be a bit splashy!
• For the base - grind the biscuits and bran flakes into crumbs and then line your serving dish with these. Press them down gently. Carefully spoon the mixture onto the base. Leave to chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
• Once the main part of the cheesecake is set you can make the blackcurrant topping.
• To make the topping dissolve the gelatine in 200ml boiled water (sprinkle the gelatine crystals into the water - if they don't dissolve put the bowl in the microwave for 10 secs), add the jam and stir in until the jam has dissolved in evenly, add the canderel and the blackcurrants and stir together crushing some of the blackcurrants to make a rich colour. Carefully place on top of chilled cheesecake and leave in fridge for another hour.