250 g biscuits, digestive or ginger biscuits
80 g butter, melted
2 x 250 g packs cream cheese
500 g mascarpone cheese
80 g caster sugar
Grated zest and juice 1 lemon
Grated zest 1 lime, juice ½
Grated zest ½ orange
Gin & Tonic Jellie Layer
6 gelatine leaves
2 wide strips pared lemon zest
juice of 2 lemons
2 wide strips pared orange zest
juice of 1 orange
Juice 1 lime
100g caster sugar
6 juniper berries, bruised
60 ml gin
300 ml tonic water
To Serve
lemon thyme sprigs or lemon zest
- Put the biscuits in a food processor and whizz to fine crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and whizz until mixed.
- Tip the crumbs into a 20 cm spring form cake tin and smooth the base using the back of a spoon. Refridgerate to firm up while you make the topping.
- Combin the cream cheese, Mascarpone, sugar, grated zests and the lemon and lime juice in a large mixing bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Spoon on top of the chilled biscuit base and level the surface with a spatula.
- Cover with cling film and chill for 2 hours or until the filling has set firm.
- For the gin and tonic layer, put the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water for to 10 minutes to soften.
- Place the lemon, orange and lime juice in a small heavy-based saucepan with the pared zests, sugar and juniper berries.
- Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and infuse the flavours. Strain into a bowl (discard the zests and berries) and keep warm.
- Squeeze out the water from the gelatine leaves, then whisk, one by one, into the warm citrus syrup until dissolved. Add the gin and tonic, whisk a little to mix, then pour over the chilled cheesecake layer.
- Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours or overnight if you like.
- To serve, scatter over a few lemon thyme sprigs.
Notes
Adapted from the original recipe on www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk.