Baked Lime and Ginger Nut Cheesecake

Ginger nuts work amazingly well in this cheesecake, making a buttery and very crunchy base for the zingy, lime cream cheese filling.  It also goes without saying that the combination of ginger and lime is a classic one, it just so happens to be particularly heavenly in cheesecake form! 

It is better to make this the evening before you want to serve it, as it needs to cool down slowly in the oven, ideally overnight, then chilled.

I have topped it here with sugared, chopped pecans (see below) and a mixture of whipped double cream, soured cream and icing sugar.  These are fantastic additions but feel free to leave it undecorated, to be enjoyed in its pure cheesecake form.

 

Ingredients

200g Ginger Nut Biscuits

100g Butter, melted

400g Full Fat Cream Cheese

the zest and juice of 1 Large Lime or 2 small Limes

175g Caster Sugar

200ml Soured Cream

3 Large Eggs

 

• Blitz or bash the ginger nut biscuits to a fine crumb then stir in the melted butter and mix thoroughly.  Press these buttery crumbs evenly into a spring-form tin (approx. 22cm diameter) and chill until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 150C (fan).
• Whisk the cream cheese, lime zest, juice and caster sugar until creamy.  Then slowly whisk in the soured cream and eggs until completely combined and smooth.
• Pour the cream cheese mixture onto the ginger nut base and smooth over the surface. 
• Bake it in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake inside (it will still have a bit of a wobble at this point).  If possible, leave it in the oven until it is completely cold, preferably overnight.  Then remove the cheesecake from the oven and chill in the fridge for at least two hours before removing it from the tin.
• Decorate the top if you wish or leave it as it is and serve with a dollop of cream.

 

Note: I prepare the pecans for the top by roughly chopping them then sizzling them for a few minutes in a frying pan with a knob of butter and a tablespoon or so of caster sugar (light brown sugar is good too).  Allow them to cool completely before using them on the cheesecake.

Fluffy Pancakes

Amazing straight from the pan with a generous squeeze of golden syrup.  Even better with a few rashers of crispy bacon...

 

Makes around 14-15 pancakes

Ingredients

100ml Natural Yoghurt

50ml Milk

1 large Egg

25g Butter, melted

125g Plain Flour

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

 

• Mix the yoghurt together with the milk and egg.
• Gradually tip in the flour, whisking constantly (I use a balloon whisk) to prevent lumps.
• Add the bicarbonate of soda, salt then the melted butter and whisk until smooth.
• Put a dry frying pan on a medium heat for a few minutes to heat up.
• Spoon dollops of batter into the pan, a heaped tablespoon (approx.) per pancake.  I cook 4 at a time but you may be able to fit more in your frying pan.
• The pancakes will be ready to flip over after a few minutes when bubbles begin to burst on the surface.  They will need to be cooked on the other side for a further minute until deep golden brown on both sides and puffy.
• Serve as soon as possible!

Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes

Beautiful, rich yet completely moreish little cupcakes of pleasure.  They are such a treat, particularly when served with a dollop of softly whipped cream...

Makes 12 Large Cupcakes or 18 Smaller Fairy Cakes

Ingredients

100g Soft Butter (spreadable is fine)

175g Light Muscovado Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

 1 Large Egg

225g Plain Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

175g Dates, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

200ml Boiling Water

For the Toffee Topping

150g Light Muscovado Sugar

100g Butter

50ml Double Cream

 

• Preheat the oven to 200C (fan) and put paper cases into a bun/cupcake tin.
• Cream the butter and sugar together with the vanilla extract until fluffy then slowly whisk in the egg and half of the flour with the baking powder.
• In a separate small bowl, sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the finely chopped dates then pour over the boiling water.  Mix thoroughly to combine.
• Whisking slowly, carefully pour the dates and hot water into the cake mixture and add the rest of the flour, whisk until combined.
• Spoon the mixture carefully (it is quite runny) into the cake cases then bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until well risen, puffy and firm to the touch.
• While the cakes are cooling make the toffee sauce topping.  Put the sugar, butter and cream into a small pan and heat gently, stirring as it melts.  When it starts to bubble turn it down and let it simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.  After this time all the sugar should have dissolved and you will have a golden brown sauce, set this aside to cool and thicken.
• After about half an hour the sauce should be thick enough to spoon onto the cupcakes but not run straight off, leave it for longer if it's still too runny.  There should be ample sauce to generously cover all the cupcakes whilst leaving a little extra for the cook to try (just to check it's ok of course).