I had lots of strawberries to spare and wanted to bake something interesting. I came across strawberry curd, and was delighted by the
sweet, creamy, yet slightly tangy result. This would be excellent on scones or a Victoria sponge, but here I've used it a little differently, and rippled it
through a vanilla cheesecake.
Strawberry curd
Makes approximately 250ml
Ingredients:
250g strawberries, hulled
50g white granulated sugar
30g butter
1 egg
Method:
1. Place the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of water in a saucepan. Place
on a medium heat and cover. Cook gently for 5 minutes, until the
strawberries are soft.
2. Sieve the strawberries into a bowl, and with the back of a
fork or spoon, pulp the strawberries through the sieve. Place the juice and
pulp back into the saucepan/in a bowl over a pan of simmering water *
3. Place the butter, sugar, and egg into the saucepan/bowl. Constantly stir until thickened – in
the saucepan this only takes a few minutes, but in the bowl it will
take between 5 and 10 minutes. Make sure that the curd does not
boil, as it would scramble. Remember however that the mixture won't be that smooth due to the strawberry pulp.
4. Once cooked through, pour into a glass and set aside. Once cooled, place in the fridge for at least half an hour. If you use a sterilized jam jar, this curd will last up to 2 months refrigerated.
*NOTE: Here I am making curd by a quicker but more error-prone method. The slower but safer way to cook the curd is in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you find the strawberry curd too sweet, replace 100g strawberries with 100g peeled and roughly chopped apple (such as a braeburn), and add 1/2 tsp lemon juice to the pan whilst softening the fruit.
Rippled Strawberry Curd Cheesecake
Makes one 13cm cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 quantity strawberry curd
80g shortbread or digestive biscuits, crushed
30g butter, melted
250g full fat soft cheese
80g golden caster sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
90ml full fat natural yoghurt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4. Mix the crushed
biscuits with the melted butter and press into the base of a 13cm
springform circular cake tin. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the cheesecake filling. Whisk the soft cheese
lightly until smooth. Add the sugar and gently whisk again (until no
obvious sugar crystals). Add the plain flour and whisk again to
combine.
3. Add the vanilla extract, egg and yoghurt. Whisk until just
combined. Over whisking will result in cracking after the cheesecake
has baked.
4. Add 3-4 tbsp of the strawberry curd into the cheesecake and
ripple through.
5. Once the base is cooked, take it out of the oven and leave to
cool for a few minutes. Lightly grease the sides of the tin.
6. Turn up the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 9. Pour over the
cheesecake filling and bake for 10 minutes.
7. Turn down the oven to 110c/90c fan/gas mark ¼. Cook for a
further 25 minutes (the cheesecake will still have a slight wobble in the center). Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar.
Leave the cheesecake in the oven for a further 2 hours.
8. Refrigerate overnight before serving.
Love Cheesecake? Then try my other cheesecake recipes:
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