Recipe | No Bake Cheesecake

Photography by Emma Croman

Pretty as you please cheesecake, with fresh fruit and flowers doing decorative duty

You will need

170g digestive biscuits
100g unsalted butter, melted
300ml double cream
100g icing sugar
250g cream cheese
1½ lemons, zested and juiced
A handful of fresh berries (we used raspberries and blueberries), a sprig of thyme and edible flowers

To make

1 Line the base of an 18cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs. Combine with the melted butter then press evenly into the base of the tin with the back of a spoon. Cover and put in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2 Whip the double cream in a fresh bowl until it forms soft peaks. Sift in the icing sugar and add the cream cheese, lemon juice and zest. Fold the mixture until thoroughly combined.

3 Remove the cheesecake base from the fridge and spoon on the cream mixture, smoothing the top with the back of the spoon. Cover and return to the fridge for 2 hrs 30 mins, or until fully set. When ready, gently remove the cheesecake from the tin and decorate with fresh berries, thyme sprigs and edible flowers.

This is just one of the recipes from our Gathering feature in our April issue, which we’ve called ‘Dinner For Good’. The menu is for a charity supper club and also includes ideas for Smoked Salmon Rostis, Herb Focaccia, Courgette, Mint and Ricotta Polpette and more. Recipes are by Louise Gorrod and photography by Emma Croman.

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More recipes with edible flowers…

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Recipe | Baked paneer cheesecake

New York usually steals the thunder when it comes to baked cheesecakes. This reworking, however, owes its distinctive flavour to India – made with paneer and spiced with cardamom, it’s a revelation. 

Serves 12
300g digestive biscuits
Ground seeds from 4 cardamom pods
2 drops of vanilla extract
100g unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE CHEESECAKE TOPPING
400g full-fat cream cheese
175g soured cream
225g paneer, finely grated
175g caster sugar
Ground seeds from 8 cardamom pods
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 medium eggs

TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)
Crushed pistachio nuts
Mango or cherry fruit compote

1 Line a 23cm springform tin with greaseproof paper, allowing enough to hang over the edges of the tin. Blitz the biscuits, cardamom and vanilla in a food processor until finely crushed. Add the butter and blitz until the crumbs stick together when pressed.
2 Transfer to the lined tin, using the back of a spoon to spread and press it firmly over the base. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
3 Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 3. In the cleaned bowl of the food processor, blitz all the topping ingredients, except the eggs, until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, adding one at a time, until well combined.
4 Pour the cream cheese mixture over the chilled base and spread it evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until set completely. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside until it has cooled completely before removing.
5 Chill for 4–5 hours in the fridge before removing from the tin and serving.

Recipe from Gunpowder by Devina Seth, Harneet Baweja & Nirmal Save (Kyle Books, out mid June).

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More from the June issue:

More pudding recipes: