...Cheesecake Tuesday!

{oh, those aren't bugs on my dessert plate, they're from the botanical range at Anthropologie}

This past weekend, in tribute to the Euro-tastic Eurovision Song Contest that took place across the continent, we hosted a party honouring the various cuisines of Europe. (Disclaimer: I'm not usually the most enthusiastic proponent of Eurovision, but when cooking & baking & chef-ing were brought into the equation, I was persuaded). I picked Germany, coming from such ancestry on my mother's side, plus Germans know how to do cakes (& custards & liquors & marzipan). & so, on to introduce the Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake (I also baked some Lebkuchen cookies). This variety comes from My Own Sweet Thyme, & rather wonderfully uses goats cheese as the base (a friend is intolerant to cow dairy, so this turned out pretty handy), with honey as a natural sugar, rather than the addition of others. One amendment I might recommend is adding a teaspoon of ground ginger to bring out the spiciness of the crust as it mellows somewhat with the butter & baking. Alternatively, chocolate & cherry is another superb combination, worth experimenting with by using chocolate biscuits in place of the ginger snaps.

Oh, & by the way, no fancy dinner posts tomorrow: Wednesday means cinema, means popcorn & a large glass of vino (- I'm giving Pirates 4 a chance...)

Recipe

~ 2 cups ginger biscuits, crushed

~ 1/4 cup melted butter

~ 8 oz goats cheese

~ 4 tbsp honey

~ 1 tsp lemon juice

~ 1/2 tsp vanilla

~ 3 large eggs, separated

~ 1 1/2 tbsp flour

~ icing (powdered) sugar for dusting

~ 1 can cherries, plus juice/syrup

~ 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

~ 1/4 cup honey

1. To crush the ginger biscuits, place in a sealed sandwich bag & crush with a rolling pin into large crumbs.

2. Mix with the butter & then press into a spring-form or removable-base tart pan. Bake in a medium heat oven for 5 mins.

3. Mix the goats cheese, honey, vanilla & lemon juice. Add the egg yolks gradually, & then the flour. Beat well until fully incorporated.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly fold into the cake batter, & then pour into the crust.

5. Bake in a medium heat oven (180 degrees) for 40 mins until set.

6. Allow the cake to cool fully, & then generously dust with sieved icing sugar.

7. Heat the balsamic vinegar, honey & juice/syrup from the cherries until they caramelise, about 10 mins. Allow to cool completely, & then mix with the tinned cherries.

8. Pour the cherry & syrup mix over the top of the cheesecake.

9. Slice, serve, & enjoy!

{all photos by me}