Lemon & Mandarin Cheesecake

Those of you who know Sylvia, will know that she loves a good cheesecake. They’ve been a passion of hers for decades and she can’t think of a better gift to take to a party or to an informal get-together.

Cheesecakes are thought to have originated in Ancient Greece and it is believed that a form of cheesecake was served to athletes during the first Olympic Games held in 776BC to give them energy! The Romans then spread the the tradition of cheesecake from Greece to Europe.

Most cheesecakes today are made with soft cream cheese on a biscuit base. These no bake cheesecakes use ingredients such as sour cream, double cream or Greek yoghurt. If the cheesecake has a custard base it must be baked and the original New York Cheesecake that hails from Junior’s on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn is a baked cheesecake.

Fun fact? You used to be able to buy cheesecake flavoured postage stamps! Flavours from Haagen-Dazs included Cookies and Cream, Macadamia Nut Brittle and Strawberry.

Sylvia has been trying out a few recipes and finds that the combination of a soft creamy filling on a sharp ginger base is delicious. It's really quick and easy to make, doesn’t require cooking and freezes well.

Ingredients

For the biscuit base…

8 oz ginger biscuits

4 oz unsalted butter

For the cream cheese topping…

12 fl oz double cream

8oz soft cream cheese

3oz caster sugar

2 lemons

3 or 4 drops Lemon essential oil

Fresh mandarins to decorate

Method

Crush the ginger biscuits - you can pop them into a bag and use the top end of a rolling pin to crush them.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Add the remaining ingredients, apart from the mandarins, into a mixing bowl and whip until stiff.

Take the base out of the fridge and spread the cream cheese mixture over it.

Decorate with the mandarin pieces and place in the fridge until ready to eat.

To freeze - gently cover the cake tin with foil and leave until frozen.

To serve - remove from the freezer and place on a plate to thaw.

Variations

Add chopped strawberries to the filling (omit the Lemon juice) and add 1-2 drops basil essential oil. Decorate with halved strawberries.

Replace the ginger biscuits with digestive biscuits.

Use chocolate biscuits for the base. Add the juice of 2 limes in place of the lemon juice and add 2 or three drops of Lime essential oil. Decorate with halved slices of Kiwi fruit.

The Verdict

This is a great cheesecake! Don’t just take our word for it - give it a go yourself!