No bake cream cake.
During the scorching summer months, I tend to avoid using the oven too much. Instead, I like to make refreshing desserts that are flexible and can be enjoyed in various ways. For instance, there's this cream cake with a delicate crust that's almost like shortbread. For the compote, you can choose any berry you prefer or skip cooking altogether if you're feeling lazy. You can top it with your favorite jam or cover it with a zesty citrus curd, and pair it with seasonal fruits like stone fruits, berries, mangoes, or pineapples. Feeling bold? How about drizzling some salted caramel over it and adding toasted nuts for an extra kick? Or maybe try a hot chocolate fudge sauce sprinkled with sea salt for a different twist! Choose your own adventure.
The original recipe is made with star anise and blackberry. With time, I figured that this cream cake could adopt so many flavors and toppings such as :
Citrus curd
Fresh fruit & berries
Jam
Caramel sauce
Chocolate fudge
Toasted nuts
Honey& maple syrup
Serves : 8-10
ingredients:
blackberry topping:
900g blackberry (divided)
1/2 cup /120ml water
1 tablespoon lime juice + zest of 1 lime.
1/4 cup/ 30g confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise
Crust:
300g digestive biscuits or same amount with graham crackers. (Crushed finely)
2/3 cup/ 60 unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2/3 cups/150g butter melted
2/3 cups 100g pecans or walnuts
Filling:
250g cream cheese (softened)
1 1/3 cups /160g confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups/ 500ml heavy cream
method:
preheat the oven to 175c/gas 4 (you can skip the baking process and place it in a fridge for 15 minutes.
for the topping
Place 300g of blackberry in a saucepan, stir in the water, confectioners sugar, lime juice, start anise and bring to simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Fold in the remaining 600g of blackberry and lime juice stir to coat, Set a side to cool down.
for the crust :
Put the digestive biscuits in a food processor, shredded coconut, cinnamon with food processor running pour in the melted butter.
Add the pecans or walnuts and process it for 10 seconds, you want it to be chunky.Press the mixture evenly in 9 inch springform pan, bake for 6 minutes.
Set a side to cool down.Whisk the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until completely smooth.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks, then fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in batches and don’t over mix. layer.
Chill the cheesecake in the pan overnight in fridge along with the blackberry compote.when ready to serve, Loosen the cake from the edges of the pan with a spread knife , then remove the out-ring, top it with half chilled blackberry compote and serve the rest on the side.
Note: place cream, whisk attachment, bowl in freezer for 15 minutes before whipping
its up to you if you want to bake crust or not.
You can use jam or fresh fruits
