Marshmallow cheesecake
Chef Richard Bainbridge’s recipe is inspired by his sister – playful mini cheesecakes made with a marshmallow filling, cranberry filling and a biscuit base.
Ingredients
For the cranberry filling
- 1 kg/2lb 4oz frozen cranberries
- 2 clementines, juice only
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
For the base
For the filling
- 375g/13oz pink and white marshmallows, cut into small pieces
- 6 tbsp full-fat milk
- 250ml/9fl oz whipping cream, semi whipped
- 500g/1lb 2oz full-fat soft cheese
- 6 tsp lime juice
To decorate
- 1 edible gold leaf sheet
- 2 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries
- 2 tbsp freeze-dried blueberries
- edible gold spray (optional)
- green icing holly leaves (optional)
Method
To make the cranberry filling, place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool slightly and then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a clean bowl or jug and pour three quarters of the mixture into small ice cube moulds. Place in the freezer until frozen. Reserve the rest for serving.
To make the base, grease and line 6 x 7.5cm/3in metal rings and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Place the crushed biscuits and melted butter into a bowl and mix well, transfer into the greased metal rings (about 2cm/¾in deep) and push down to create an even base.
Place in the oven to bake for 5 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the fridge until cold and set.
To make the filling, place the marshmallows into a saucepan with the milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally until fully melted. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Once melted, leave to cool a little.
Semi-whip the whipping cream in a bowl and then stir in the soft cheese and lime juice. Gently fold the cooled marshmallow mixture into the soft cheese mixture. Taste and add a little more lime juice to taste.
To assemble, take the biscuit base metal rings out of the fridge and pour the filling about three-quarters of the way up.
Remove the frozen cranberry cubes from the freezer and push them into the middle of the cheesecake rings.
Now add a little of the marshmallow cheesecake mixture to cover and smooth over the top with a warm palette knife. Place into the fridge for 2–3 hours to fully set.
To serve, remove from the fridge and remove the ring from the cheesecake and garnish with the freeze-dried berries, gold leaf, gold spray and holly leaves (if using). Serve the some of the remaining cranberry sauce alongside each cheesecake.
