Cheesecake is a classic dessert and can become a blank canvas for adding different flavours. From fruit toppings and rich red berries right through to orange or even chocolate, the scope for variety with the humble cheesecake is endless!
I love the citrus punch that my lemon, lime, ginger and coconut cheesecake provides, whilst being slightly softer in texture than say your average ‘New York Cheesecake’. It is certainly delicious and has gone down extremely well at my dinner parties. I hope you enjoy making (and tasting) it too!
To make this cheesecake, you will need the following ingredients:
For the base:
1. 200g ginger biscuits
2. 100g butter, softened
3. 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
For the filling:
1. 560g full fat cream cheese tub
2. 1 tin of condensed milk
3. 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
4. Juice of 2 lemons (set aside a few segments to garnish)
5. Juice of 2 limes (set aside a few segments to garnish)
6. 1 sachet of powdered gelatin (vegetable gelatin sachets are available in supermarkets if you prefer)
*Before we begin baking, if you have a cake tin with a removable bottom, then you may wish to grease it with some butter or oil to help make it easier to remove your cheesecake when set.
*If you have a normal cake tin, then line it with cling film because this will make it much easier to remove the cheesecake after it has set.
*Also, please note that the coconut flavour is only mild as I allow the lemon, lime and ginger to be the key flavours. However, if you want a more of a coconut flavour, then replace and substitute some of the butter in the biscuit base with coconut oil instead.
Step 1
Firstly, to make the biscuit base, crush the ginger biscuits in a food processor or by putting them in a well-wrapped tea towel and mashing them with a rolling pin until they resemble fine crumbs.
Next, in a medium-sized frying pan and over a low heat, combine the butter, coconut oil and biscuit crumbs together and then pat it into the cake tin.
Place it in the fridge to set whilst you make the cheesecake filling.
Step 2
This has got to be my favourite part, making the cheesecake filling itself!
Start by combining all the filing ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, (except for the gelatin) and whisk together to form a soft mixture.
Now follow the instructions on your gelatin packet which will normally involve mixing the gelatin powder with water. Once made, combine it into the mixture and stir everything together thoroughly.
Step 3
Now you can simply add your cheesecake mixture to the biscuit base and smooth the top of the cheesecake surface over with a knife or baking spatula.
You can now garnish and decorate the top of your cheesecake with the segments of lemon and lime that we saved from earlier. It can make a real difference to the look of the cheesecake and also helps to tell people what the flavour inside is too.
Lastly, chill the cheesecake in the fridge for at least two hours (and preferably overnight) to allow the gelatin to fully set throughout the structure of the cheesecake.
Once set, carefully remove it from the cake tin to serve and impress your guests! Enjoy!
