ANZAC mango cheesecake

By on | 1 Comment

In what can only be described as a momentary lapse in judgment, I decided to do our weekly grocery shop with three kids in tow today. You see, I normally do my weekly shop online. Items are ordered from the comfort of home, they arrive the following day and are delivered literally to my kitchen bench. How easy it that!?

I’m not really sure why I decided to ignore my weekly ritual today.  I did tell myself that it might be nice to do a little aisle wander, see what was on special and what new items had arrived on the shelves. How naïve was I!

For what actually ensued was 3 bored kids who argued and moaned the moment we selected a trolley,  and were well and truly over the whole experience before we even got through aisle 1. It also meant that way too many treats snuck their way into the trolley – and the bill at the end was much more than I would ordinarily spend.

One saving grace was the lovely mangoes we picked up – at a price indicative that the warmer months are coming. And they quickly reminded me of this lovely little cheesecake we made a while back for our Father’s Day linner.

With ANZAC biscuits as the base, this no-bake cheesecake was jazzed up with a jelly layer and topped with fresh mango and passionfruit. I followed this recipe , substituting the lime jelly for mango jelly, and foregoing the mint leaves (only because I didn’t have any on hand).

The result was a beautifully tropical dessert that was pretty easy to pull together – and that could be made a day in advance.

But yes, in case there is any doubt, I will be going back to my regular online grocery order from next week…

My favourite Lemon and Coconut Slice

When asked to “bring a plate”, I often lean towards creating a sweet treat. Rocky road is usually my “go to” sweet, and is generally well received, but on other occasions I like to bring a plate of lemon slice.  For it is easy to make, requires no baking, and the leftovers keep really well too.

Recently I offered to make a couple slices for a birthday party. I had a few chocolate based ones in mind, and figured my favourite lemon slice would work beautifully as a nice flavour contrast to those. And with some lemons leftover from the peach and lemon cake, well it was a no-brainer really.

So one dreary morning, my helpers and I got to work. Lemons were juiced and zested, biscuits were crumbed and condensed milk and butter were heated. And before too long we had ourselves a big tray of lemon slice, sprinkled with coconut, and ready to be sliced and served.

This was a great slice to make with the kids too. They had a lot of fun turning the food processor on and off, and stirring the coconut and melted ingredients into the biscuit crumbs. Bowls and spoons were licked not long after, and coconut was liberally sprinkled over the iced slice (and most of the kitchen benchtop, but let’s not talk about that…!)

Print Recipe
 Lemon and Coconut Slice
Course Baking
Cuisine Baking
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices (or more depending on the size)
Ingredients
Course Baking
Cuisine Baking
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices (or more depending on the size)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Process the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Place in a large bowl, add the coconut, lemon juice and zest, and stir to combine.
  2. Place the sweetened condensed milk and butter in a saucepan. Heat slowly, over a low heat, stirring until the butter has melted.
  3. Pour the butter mixture into the biscuit mixture, and stir until well combined. Press firmly into a slice tin (that is lined with baking paper), and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  4. Place the icing sugar and extra lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has melted and the ingredients have combined. Spread over the chilled slice, and sprinkle with extra coconut. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or overnight) then slice and serve.
Share this Recipe

Vanilla cheesecake with blood orange curd

By on | 6 Comments

IMG_0590 Be prepared, dear readers, for a week filled with blood-orange-inspired recipes. For the lovely people at Red Belly Citrus gifted several Canberra bloggers – including yours truly – with a box of this gorgeous fruit. redbelly And, given the never-ending colds that are floating around our family – I suspect the vitamin C laden delivery could not have come at a better time! IMG_0554 One thing I hadn’t appreciated, before now, is that the iconic crimson-red hue of the blood orange comes from is unique ability to produce Athocynanins (which, according to the Red Belly Citrus website, is “one of the most powerful phyto-chemicals known in the plant kingdom…known for their potent antioxidant capability, being some 150 times more powerful than Vitamin C alone…”). In fact, the reason blood oranges are not available all year is because they require the right environmental conditions to help build Athocynanin- levels (ie. almost freezing night temperatures as well as high day temperatures). IMG_0546 But the real fun part – when gifted an abundant supply of a delightful ingredient such as this – is getting creative in the kitchen. And I’ve certainly been doing just that.   So stay tuned for a few savoury, and a few sweet treats this week. To kick things of….. Vanilla cheesecake with blood orange curd! IMG_0593 Delicious blood orange curd – made using the microwave (!?) – swirled through a chilled vanilla cheesecake mixture – set atop a gluten free biscuit base. IMG_0548 With the added bonus being that I used only a portion of the curd in the final cake, so I have plenty leftover to indulge in over the weeks to come. IMG_0550IMG_0551IMG_0552 And while I normally lean towards baked cheesecakes, this chilled cheesecake was light and creamy – and received positive reviews from the ‘family taste testers’. IMG_0589 Not to mention coming together with relative ease. IMG_0596IMG_0611 The beautiful sweetness of the oranges shone through, and added a lovely hit of citrus to the otherwise creamy cake. Definitely a nice fresh take on the ol’ lemon cheesecake! IMG_0594 Vanilla cheesecake with blood orange curd For curd: makes about 1.5 cups

  • 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 85g caster sugar
  • grated rind of one blood orange
  • 2 blood oranges – juiced
  • 65g butter, chilled and chopped

For cheesecake:

  • 250g packet plain biscuits (I used GF biscuits)
  • 150g butter, melted
  • 3 tsp powdered gelatine
  • 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 500g cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 caster sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • Grated rind of one blood orange
  • 300ml cream, whipped
  • 1/4 cup blood orange curd
  1. For the curd: Combine eggs, egg yolk, sugar and rind in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Add orange juice, and whisk until well combined. Add the butter. Place the bowl on a plate in the microwave, and cook uncovered on medium for 5-8 minutes – stirring every minute. Remove the curd when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine sieve, and set aside to cool.
  2. For the cheesecake: Grease a 20cm round spring form pan, and line base and sides with baking paper.
  3. Process biscuits in a food processor until the form fine crumbs. Add the melted butter, and mix to combine. Press into the base of the prepared tin, and chilli in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle gelatine over the boiling water, and whisk with a fork until well combined. Set aside.
  5. Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and rind until light and fluffy. Add the gelatine mixture, and beat until well combined. Fold in the whipped cream.
  6. Pour onto the biscuit base and smooth surface. Spoon the blood orange curd on top, and use a skewer to create a marbled effect.
  7. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
  8. Remove from pan, slice and serve.

What about you? Have you ever tried blood oranges? (A big thankyou to Red Belly Citrus for gifting me with these blood oranges, and inviting me to create some recipes!)