Strawberry Cheesecake

I don’t tend to bake sweet treats much these days. Not because I don’t enjoy it (I really do!) – its just that I generally crave savoury snacks over sweet – particularly when the weather is warmer. But now that the days are getting shorter, and t-shirts are being replaced with snuggly knits and scarves – there is something quite comforting about indulging in something sweet.

This strawberry cheesecake made an appearance at our Easter lunch. Actually it was one of two cakes we made for the occasion (the other being a tim tam cheesecake). I loved its simplicity – and the fact that the beautiful strawberries were the star of the show. It was also a non-baked version – so we could pull it together the day before.

I used shortbread for the base – flavoured with a little coconut. The creamy filling was made with cream cheese, cream, sweetened condensed milk and, of course, fresh strawberries. Jazzed up with a little fresh lime juice and zest.

The overall result was a cheesecake that was effortlessly delicious. Packed with flavour (and had me going back for seconds in the days that followed). A nice break from the chocolate overload over Easter too!

Print Recipe
 Strawberry Cheesecake
Course Baking
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Baking
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Grease and line a springform baking tin.
  2. Process biscuits and coconut until they are a fine crumb. Add the melted butter, and process until combined. Press into the prepared tin, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the cream cheese and condensed milk to a clean food processor, and process until smooth. Add 400g of the strawberries and cream, and continue to process until smooth.
  4. Heat the lime juice in a small saucepan until simmering. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, and add to the heated juice. Stir until dissolved, then allow to cool slightly.
  5. Add the gelatine mix to the processor, along with the lime zest, and process until combined. Carefully pour the mixture on top of the base, and refrigerate until set.
  6. Remove the cake from the tin, and top with extra strawberries to serve.
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A sweet treat from the Mystery Box

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Happy Friday! Today’s training session needed to be convenient – and what could be more convenient than an early morning spin class?! 1 hour, lots of sweat and lots of heart pumping music later – my training was done for the day – and the clock had only just hit 7am. Gotta love that! When I arrived home this evening, I immediately hit the shower to get all prettied up for an industry function I am attending tonight. After a week spent in work clothes + training gear, it was actually quite nice to get all dressed up. Seeing as I will be absent from a regular dinner post this evening, I figured I would share with you the sweet treats that I have been indulging in all week – courtesy of the Mystery Box and the ever-inspiring Angela! First things first, the chosen Mystery Box ingredient… IMG_1911 Strawberries! IMG_1773      Did you know? Strawberries (which are a member of the rose family) are an excellent source of vitamin C and folate, and  are grown from the sub polar regions to the tropics. They are the only fruit with seeds on the outside – with the average strawberry having  200 seeds! IMG_1774 When I drew this delightful ingredient out of the Mystery Box last weekend, I thought of one dish and one dish only. IMG_1794 Miss Angela’s strawberry oat squares. IMG_1825 The jam was super easy to make, and tasted divine. I may or may not have sampled spoonfuls straight out of the pan…you know….for quality assurance purposes ;)  IMG_1786 I especially loved that it was thickened using chia seeds…….pure genius! In place of the kamut flour, I used this GF flour that the lovely Carol was kind enough to send me awhile ago. IMG_1780 I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to open the package, and figured there was no better time than for strawberry oat squares! IMG_1782 IMG_1790 IMG_1797 After the slice had cooled (tempting as it was to sneak a few pieces straight out of the oven), I cut half the slice into squares. IMG_1846     Mine were initially little crumbly, but the flavour was divine. IMG_1847 I kept the remaining un-cut slice in the fridge and actually I found that it was much easier to slice after it had been chilled. IMG_1848 Yes, I will admit that the whole family enjoyed a small slice of this wonderful sweet treat each night this week for dessert. Served with a little ice-cream. IMG_1850 My only sadness is that there is none left! What about you? How do you like to use strawberries? Happy Baking 🙂

Mother’s Day musings

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What a busy few days we have had…. IMG_7130 Mr BBB and I had a full agenda since arriving in Melbourne on Friday morning.  We managed to spend time with my family, attend my grandfather’s 90th birthday lunch, go for a run, buy a new cook top and range hood, indulge in great company and delicious Thai food with my high school friend and her husband, and drive all the way back to Canberra in time for work tomorrow. I actually have a 6am flight to Adelaide in the morning for work, but let’s not think about that just yet!! I was TERRIBLE  with photo taking yesterday, although I did manage to get a photo of the spritely birthday boy… IMG_7108 And a couple of  family pictures…. IMG_7098IMG_7114 Oh and some photos of the cake(s), of course 😉 IMG_7105IMG_7100 Today was, of course, Mother’s Day and I was lucky enough to spend the morning with my Mum. Since moving interstate almost 12 years ago, getting home for such occasions is  not always possible so it is even more special when we get to celebrate together. Mum has been a constant source of love and encouragement in my life, and I feel that as I get older we are becoming more and more like good friends, rather than just mother and daughter. With the help of my little bro and Mr BBB, we set about creating a special Mother’s Day Breakfast. IMG_7133 The table was set…. IMG_7134 The cocktails were poured… IMG_7136 And the strawberries were dipped in chocolate… IMG_7124   IMG_7126 Our meal started with a breakfast parfait, made with homemade granola and yoghurt… IMG_7128 IMG_7132 Followed by scrambled eggs with crème fraiche and chives, served with smoked salmon (or ham), tomato, spinach and mushrooms. IMG_7141 And finished with chocolate dipped strawberries… because who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast?!  IMG_7127     IMG_7143  Our bellies full, it was not long until Mr BBB and I had to bid our farewells and hit the road for home. IMG_7152IMG_7159 8 hours, 600km, 1 coffee, lunch and a chocolate cookie later, we arrived home to 2 very happy cats. Time for a little relaxation  before another big day tomorrow. What about you? How did you celebrate mother’s day? Happy Baking 🙂