This is a stunning cheesecake that will surely impress your guests. I use a lot of cheese and cream for this recipe, because I like the cake to be quite tall and elegant. It is also best served the day after, so it's a great recipe to prepare in advance, to minimise cooking stress when inviting people for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Base
Ginger Digestives 220g (but you can use the plain ones if you prefer)
Unsalted butter 110g
Filling
Gelatine leaves 10g
Milk 5 tbsp (to dissolve the gelatine)
Philadelphia full fat 280g (at room temperature)
Crème fraîche 250g
Icing Sugar 120g
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Whipping cream 300g
A vanilla pod
Raspberry Gelee
Fresh berries (you can use a mix of blueberries and raspberries, or raspberries only) 120g
Gelatine leaves 2g
Granulated white sugar 45g (but always taste and add some more if you think it’s needed)
Lemon juice 1tbs
Water 90g
Decoration
Fresh berries 120g
For the Base
Lightly butter a 20cm deep springform cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Put the digestive biscuits into a food processor and whizz to crumbs, then add the melted butter and pulse again briefly. Tip into the cake tin, spread out and press down firmly to make an even base. Put into the fridge to set.
For the Filling
Soak the gelatine leaves (10g) in cold water and set aside for about 10 minutes. By the time you mix the other ingredients, it will be soft and ready to use.
In a bowl, whisk the soft cheese with an electric whisk until fluffy. In a separate bowl, pour the whipping cream, the crème fraîche, the lemon juice, the vanilla seeds (scraped from the pod) and the icing sugar, and whisk until soft peaks. Do not over do it, as the mixture has to be light and fluffy. Gently fold into the soft cheese mixture.
In a small pan, heat 5 tbsps of milk. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out any excess water. Stir the gelatine into the warm milk mixture to dissolve. Once dissolved, add the gelatine to the rest of the ingredients. Pour the filling mixture into the cake tin and spread it out. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before going to the next step.
For the Raspberry Gelee:
Soak the gelatine (2g) in cold water for about 10 minutes. Puree the raspberries and pass them through a sieve, to remove all seeds. Pour 3-4 tbsps of the raspberry puree into a saucepan, add the water, the sugar and and the lemon juice and heat up gently. Once the mixture is warm, but not too hot, add the squeezed gelatine sheets and let them dissolve.
Let cool completely and then add the mixture to the rest of the raspberry puree and mix well. The reason why I do this in two steps, and heat up a small amount of fruit puree, is to avoid that it looses its vibrant colour. If you heat up the whole thing, it will become dark and it won't be very pretty.
Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and pour the raspberry mixture over the cake. Refrigerate again for at least 6/8 hours. Best served the day after.