Aimée Hohls' Cheesecake with Berry Coulis Recipe
Photo by Kathy Pitout Photography
“My inspiration for this recipe was a gorgeous silky cheesecake topped with Black cherries made by my gran- Gilly, as we call her. After making a complete disaster of a Gluten Free Raspberry and Crème fraîche cake for my uncle’s birthday braai in February, I quickly decided to salvage my dessert for the occasion and transform my cake into a summer berry trifle. To avoid yet another emergency trip to the shops that day, I ended up teaching myself to make my very first coulis! I was so thrilled with my coulis that I decided to take my “Gilly’s” cheesecake recipe and make it my own by incorporating some lemon flavours and my chunky berry coulis, which I have found to make a very decadent cheesecake- if I do say so myself!
It is a wonderfully rich and creamy cheesecake, but if you do not like a dessert too sweet- like myself- then I would definitely recommend this recipe. The freshness of the lemon and the tartness from the berries create a beautifully balanced treat!”
Aimée’s Zesty Cheesecake with Chunky Berry Coulis
Makes 1 Cheesecake.
Ingredients:
Base:
1 packet Tennis biscuits
80g salted butter
Chunky Berry Coulis:
500g frozen blue/black berries
500g frozen raspberries
¾ cup Kirsch Cherry Liqueur
2/3 cup caster sugar
Filling:
2 tins condensed milk
2 tubs/ 500g smooth cream cheese
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Zest of 1 large lemon.
2 tins Nestle dessert cream (chilled)
250ml fresh cream or Millac Gold cream– for topping
Method:
Line a springform cake tin (a cake tin with a detachable base) and preheat the oven to 180°C.
Crush tennis biscuits in a food processor, or in a closed bag with a rolling pin, to form fine crumbs.
Melt butter and combine well with the biscuit crumbs, Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the lined springform cake tin. Refrigerate until your filling is made and ready to put on top.
To make the berry coulis; Put all berries, Kirsch and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once it comes to the boil, lower the temperature to a simmer. Simmer until a jammy texture is reached. Let it cool off the heat.
To make the cheesecake filling; Gently whisk condensed milk, cream cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, gently whisk tinned dessert cream just until smooth and fold into cream cheese mixture.
Pour the cheesecake filling over the chilled biscuit base.
Add 4 heaped dessert spoons of the berry coulis on top of the cheesecake mixture, and swirl coulis into the mixture with a skewer to create a marbled effect. Store the remaining coulis for topping decoration later.
Bake cheesecake for 15 minutes at 180°C.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, refrigerate overnight.
Once set remove from tin.
Whip fresh cream to form soft peaks.
Decorate your cheesecake with fresh whipped cream and remaining berry coulis. Enjoy!