cooking

I'm a perverse collector of cheesecakes. Its very bad. I love making them, although I still feel like I am hunting for the holy grail.
I think this is because I don't like Philadelphia cream cheese very much. It just seems too heavy for a cake. BUT it does have an unctuous texture that would be nice to be able to replicate with a slightly lighter cheese.
Ricotta works ok, but tends to be a little mealy in texture. Turkish Labneh is still my favorite.

The current recipe:
1 box Hob-nobs oatmeal cookies
1/2 cup butter
One 1kg container Pinar Labneh.
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup limoncello
juice of a lemon
zest of a lemon, finely chopped
1 cup frozen red currants
1/2 pint of red currants
1/2 pint strawberry
1/2 cup sugar

Process about 1/ 2 the package of Hob-nobs in a food processor until small crumbs. Melt your butter and add it to the cookies. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9" tart or springform pan. In a blender, combine the labneh, eggs, sugar, limoncello, lemon juice and zest. Blend until smooth. Pour into the pan, bake at 150 for about 50 minutes.
You can also try baking it in a waterbath for slightly longer. I've had mixed results with this, sometimes the cake comes out very creamy, others it doesn't seem to matter at all.
For the topping, cook your frozen currants with the sugar until they are pale and and have released all their juices (10 minutes at a simmer should do it). Strain & discard the solids. When cool, fold the syrup with the currants and hulled, chopped strawberries. Top cake. Refrigerate at least a few hours before serving.



This year's Easter cheesecake was a winner, but then I overcooked it. It was tasty, but not quite the masterpiece I am looking for....