Vodka strawberry cheesecake
Inspired by their travels in Eastern Europe the Hairy Bikers give cheesecake a Polish twist with vodka infused strawberries.
Ingredients
For the vodka strawberries
- 100ml/3½fl oz vodka
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 400g/4oz strawberries, quartered and pricked all over with a fork
For the biscuit base
- knob of butter, for greasing
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú biscuits, such as digestive biscuits
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake filling
- 500g/1lb 2oz curd cheese (available from some large supermarkets)
- 375ml/13fl oz double cream
- 1 lemon, juice and zest only
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú cornflour
- 5 free-range eggs, beaten
To decorate
- 100g/3½ oz strawberry jam
- 200g/7oz strawberries, halved
- whipped cream, to serve
Method
For the vodka strawberries, pour the vodka into a large bowl, add the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Stir in the strawberries and leave to infuse for about 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Generously butter a deep 23cm/9in springform tin.
Meanwhile break the biscuits into crumbs in a food processor, or put them in a bag and bash with a rolling pin. Mix in the salt and cinnamon. Then add the melted butter. Stir well and pack evenly into the prepared baking tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Leave to cool.
In a bowl beat together the curd cheese, double cream, lemon juice and zest, caster sugar, vanilla bean paste, cornflour and eggs.
Drain the vodka strawberries using a sieve, reserving the vodka strawberry juice. Fold the strawberries into the cheesecake mixture.
Pour the mixture on top of the biscuit base. Cover the bottom of the baking tin with two layers of tin foil and place in a deep roasting tin. Pour in boiling water to come up to about 2cm/¾in of the cheesecake tin. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the cheesecake is browned in the top and cooked just solid. Set aside to cool completely, preferably overnight.
Meanwhile, in a pan heat the strawberry jam. Add half of the vodka strawberry juice, and mix together. Leave to cool. With a pastry brush paint a coating of the vokda-infused jam onto the cheesecake and stick on the halved strawberries cut-side down in a lovely pattern. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with whipped cream.