.Recipe Monday.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Base
200g biscuit crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
70g butter, melted
Filling
500g cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 large lemon, rind finely grated, juiced
3 tsp powdered gelatine
300ml cream, lightly whipped
375g small strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Grease and line the base and sides of a springform cake pan.
Mix biscuit crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter together. Press into base of pan and place in the fridge.
Heat lemon juice and gelatine in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a for until dissolved. Set aside to cool (this mixture needs to be the same temperature as the cream cheese mixture before combining.)
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon rind until smooth.
Beat gelatine into cream cheese mixture. Fold in cream, mixing until combined.
Spoon filling over base and smooth surface. Refrigerate cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.
Arrange strawberries, pointed end up, over cheesecake. Warm jam in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl for 45-60 seconds. Drizzle warm jam over strawberries. Chill for 30 minutes or until jam sets.

Another version of the same cheesecake...this time using buttersnap biscuits as the base. I put them in patty pan trays and into the oven for 5 minutes to soften. As soon as they come out of the oven and are still hot and soft, press the biscuits in the pan with the back of a soup spoon to make them turn into a little cup shape. They will cool in this shape. I used half the filing mix above and it made enough to fill almost 2 packets buttersnap biscuits.