CHERRY CHEESE CAKE

Hello friends, I am up with another dessert this time. My all time favorite, cheese cake. I've been longing to make a dessert since long but didn't find time to make some. Two weeks back my hubby happened to visit a fruit and vegetable market where he bought some really fresh fruits for really reasonable prices. amogst those were some cherries and strawberries. Initially I thought of making strawberry cheese cake with cherry topping or a simple cheese cake with cherry topping. But somehow I ended up adding pureed cherries to the filling and topped it with some cut strawberries and some whole cherries. I actually doubted if I would be able to impress my family with this cheese-cake, as every time I present something proudly, It wins no merit at all, as their taste is completely different from mine. But with God's grace, I happened to treat some guests, whose taste was very much similar to mine, and they all really loved it and finished it no time.

I made a thin crust for the cheese cake as my hubby doesn't enjoy the biscuit part much and adjusted according to his taste. Below in the recipe, I will mention the quantity required for an 8 inch pan. Also you can avoid the cherry part mentioned in the filling, for a plain cheese cake... If you are planning for a plain cheese cake, then go ahead, and all you need to alter is subtract the cherry part and add a squeeze of 1/2 a lime.

Ingredients:
For crust:

• digestive biscuit- 200 gm
• butter- 100 gm(unsalted)

For filling:

• cream cheese- 200 gm (at room temperature)
• whipping cream- 200 mls
• icing sugar or powdered sugar- 6 tbsp( or more adjusted according to your sweetness)
• fresh cherries (deseeded) -15
• sugar- 2tbsp
• water - 2 tbsp
• gelatin- 1 sachet (10 gm)
• hot water- 1/4 cup

For topping:

• strawberries- 200 gm(cut into half)
• cherries-5
• gelatin- 2 tsp dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water

Preparation:
Grind the biscuits in a food processor or mixer along wit some butter. Or you can crush the biscuits in a zip-lock bag banging using a rolling pan and then mix it with melted butter.
Take a spring form pan and then press the biscuit mixture to the base of the pan gently with fingers spreading evenly. keep the pan in the freezer till you prepare the filling.
Add the deseeded cherries with sugar and some water in a pan and boil for 5 minutes. Puree the cherry mixture in a blender.
Dissolve gelatin in hot water and keep aside. In a food mixer, mix cream cheese and icing sugar together. Whip the whipping cream using a whisk until soft peaks form. Mix the cheese, cream and cherry puree together and add gelatin to the final mixture. Pour the filling over the biscuit base and refrigerate it for 3-4 hrs or until set.
If you want cherry free cheese cake, avoid using cherries and add squeeze of 1/2 lime. Also add 1 tsp of vanilla essence if you want.
Arrange strawberries over the cheese cake along with some cherries and brush with some dissolved gelatin for the glaze. Refrigerate for 30 more minutes. serve and enjoy.

Linking this recipe to Shruti’s ‘Sweet Celebration’ Event :)