I have never made a cheesecake before, but I was looking forward to making Mary Berry’s simple lemon and lime version of the classic dessert.
Mary Berry presented her lemon and lime cheesecake in miniature form in the shape of small, cute circles, but I didn’t have any cooking rings.
“If you don’t have cooking rings, you can use small empty chopped tomato or baked bean cans,” Mary Berry suggested. “This mixture can also be made in a 20cm (eight-inch) shallow springform tin.”
Not wanting more faff than is necessary, I opted to make my cheesecake in the springform tin, which is a must-have accessory for baking.
“Watch out! There is now a low-fat condensed milk available. If you use this, it won’t set!” Mary Berry cautioned.
Mary Berry’s lemon and lime cheesecake recipe
- 100g (six) digestive biscuits
- 50g butter
- One tbsp caster sugar
- Fresh raspberries, to garnish
For the filling:
- One x 250g tub mascarpone
- One x 375g can full-fat condensed milk
- Juice of one small lemon
- Three tbsp lemon curd
- Finely grated zest and juice of two limes
Method
1. If using cooking rings, you will need to line a baking sheet with cling film and sit eight cooking rings on top.
If you are using a springform tin like I did, then lesson number one: the baking sheet and cling film could still apply to stop the cheesecake from sticking to the tin later on.
2. Crush the digestive biscuits (six of them to make 100g) with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs.
Not wanting to get crumbs all over my kitchen, I took cook Nigella Lawson’s advice and crushed broken digestive biscuits in a mixing bowl with a potato masher.
The digestive biscuits turned into that classic cheesecake base and my kitchen was still nice and tidy instead of crumbs going everywhere.
3. Melt the butter (that has been weighed) in a pan and add the crumbs and sugar. Stir until combined. Using a teaspoon, press biscuit crumbs into the base of each ring (or springform tin) to give an even layer. Transfer to the fridge to firm up while making the filling.
4. Measure the mascarpone and condensed milk into a bowl and whisk with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the lemon juice and curd and nearly all the lime zest (reserve some for decoration) and juice and whisk again until thick and creamy.
This is where baking lesson number two came into play: if you don’t have an electric whisk, get one.
Whether whisked by hand or machine, the key to a good cheesecake filling is to make sure you whisk long enough for soft peaks to form.
5. Spoon on top of the biscuit base in the rings (or springform tin). Level the tops, cover with cling film and chill for a minimum of two hours.
6. Run a palette knife around the inside edge of each ring to help ease the cheesecakes out onto individual plates. Decorate with the reserved lime zest and some raspberries on the side, if liked.
While my lime and lemon cheesecake turned out tasting delicious, the digestive biscuits were hard to remove from the springform tin, so it ruined the whole presentation.
