From the Pantry: No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake

Strawberry season is in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to a local “pick your own” farm. We spent a sunny afternoon wandering through rows of fruit bushes, filling our punnets with the ripest strawberries we could find.

The farm we visited is McLauchlans of Boxted a traditional family run business and the fruit speaks for itself.

This month’s ‘From the Pantry’ recipe is a no-bake strawberry cheesecake taken from the Good Food Magazine. It’s easy to make, doesn’t require turning on the oven, and is the perfect summer desert.

This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by swapping the digestives for a gluten-free alternative.

Ingredients

2 tsp sunflower oil
400g digestive biscuits (the Good Food recipe asked for 200g but we wanted a thicker base)
200g unsalted butter (increased from 100g for the extra biscuit!)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
200g white chocolate
400g strawberries plus extra to decorate
300g full-fat cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lemon zest
1 tbsp runny honey or maple syrup
300ml double cream

Serves 6-8

Method
Brush the inside of a 23cm/9in springform tin with the sunflower oil, and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

Put the digestive biscuits into a sealable freezer bag. Push all the air out and seal the bag. Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin, until they are reduced to sand-like crumbs.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the biscuit crumbs and cinnamon. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the tin. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Chop 150g of the strawberries in half from top to bottom and arrange around the edge of the prepared tin, cut side out. Chop the remaining berries into small pieces.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, either over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, or in a microwave.

Beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest and honey in a mixing bowl. Stir in the chopped strawberries.

In another bowl, whisk the double cream until it holds a floppy peak. Don’t over whisk it like we did first time round!

Fold the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture, followed by the double cream. And more honey if needed.

Spoon the filling into the tin, being careful not to move the strawberries on the edge. Spread level with a palette knife or the back of a spoon, cover with cling film and chill overnight, until firm.

Carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and put on a serving plate. Slice or quarter extra strawberries to arrange on top.

We’d love for you to give this recipe a try and if you do, let us know how it turns out! Share your photos, tag us on instagram @Bakerandbakerinteriors