Friday 10 May 2013

Lemon Crisp Cheesecake



 
 
Of all the biscuits available in shops, my favourite is the Arnott’s Lemon Crisp. Long before salted caramel became trendy, the Lemon Crisp biscuit with its creamy lemon filling and its short, salty biscuit casing was a pleasing mix of sweet and savoury.

I’d been dreaming of a creating Lemon Crisp cheesecake for a while. I finally had a chance to make it a reality last week.

Lemon Crisp Cheesecake

1 250g packet Arnott’s Lemon Crisp Biscuits (biscuits separated and cream scraped out)

125g butter, melted

2 x 250g packets cream cheese (I used Philadelphia Light)

1 x 200g tub light sour cream

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

½ teaspoon sea salt flakes

Oven temp: 150C

Separate the biscuits and the cream filling. They pull apart quite easily and the lemon cream is quickly lifted off with a knife. Set lemon cream aside.

 

Crush biscuits in a blender (if you prefer a finer base) or in a plastic bag which you bash with a rolling pin (if you like more texture). I prefer the latter.
 

 
Mix melted butter and biscuit crumbs together until well combined. Press into the base of a 20cm round springform baking tin. Put in the fridge to chill for 15 -20 minutes.
 

In a food processor combine cream cheese, lemon cream, sour cream, sugar, and salt flakes until completely mixed. Add beaten egg mixture slowly, until all is combined.

 

Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and bake in the oven for just about an hour or until cheesecake is set.

 

Allow to cool before chilling in the fridge for about 2 hours before serving.

Decorate with a few more salt flakes or lemon zest. I actually used the little pink spheres that come from Pemberton Fingerlimes to add some zing and texture.
 
 
 
 
You can see that my cheesecake cracked across the top (very Dr Who...) and the one photo I took is not centred at all  but it tasted really good and that is all that matters - still like a lemoncrisp biscuit but in a whole cake.
 
 
 
 
 
Serve with a cup of strong black coffee. Serve to hungry friends at the end of a dinner party.