Gettin' Cheesy

I've been on a bit of a cheesecake kick at the moment. 

Okay that's a bit inaccurate because it's not that I can't stop eating cheesecake. I just keep wanting to make them because I'm itching to perfect the recipe that I found.

If you're looking for a traditionally cheesey, dense, almost wet-crumbly cheesecake... this isn't it. If you're looking for supremely light and extremely addictive Japanese cotton-soft cheesecake, this isn't it either. This is a mousse-like cheesecake.

It's a time consuming recipe, let's get that straight. But, most of the steps are fool-proof and it yields a very impressive looking result.

Additionally, this is a fairly flexible recipe. The jelly topping alone permits you to try different flavours - you're only limited by your creativity and personal preferences. I already want to try a few different fruit and jelly combinations. Similarly, you're not not limited to digestive biscuits for your base. Or even a vanilla based cheesecake layer. I can't wait to whip up more cheesecakes.

What are you waiting for, give this recipe a whirl!

 
Fruit and Jelly, Moussey Cheesecake
(originally known as Strawberry Jelly Hearts from here but modified to my preferences)

Base
300g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
150g melted butter

Filling
500g softened cream cheese
2/3 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Gelatine mix

Gelatine mix (refer to notes about each option)
Option 1: 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of gelatine powder + 1 and 1/4 cups of boiling water
Option 2: 1 tablespoon of gelatine powder + 5/6 cups of water
Option 3: To be experimented with and updated in the future

Topping
Fruit of your choice, diced/chopped/sliced
2 X 85g of flavoured jelly crystals
3 cups boiling hot water

Method

1. Make the base:
1. Use a food processor to grind the biscuits into a fine powder.
2. Transfer the crumbs into a big bowl and pour the melted butter into it. Mix well.
3. (Optional) lightly grease a springform tin with butter.
4. Transfer the the mixture into the springform tin, pressing the mix down firmly into an even layer.
5. Put the tin in the fridge. The crust will take 1-2 hours to set, depending on how cold your fridge is.


2. Prepare the gelatine mixture:
1. Put gelatine into a bowl.
2. Pour boiling water and stir well, making sure the gelatine is completely dissolved.
3. Leave the mixture aside to cool.


3. Prepare and add the cheesecake layer: 
1. In a mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), place the cream cheese.
2. Add sugar to the bowl and mix until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla bean paste and mix well.
4. Slowly add the cooled gelatine liquid into the mixture and whisk well.
5. Take the crust out of the fridge and prick the base well with a fork.
6. Pour the cheesecake filling into the tin.
7. Optional step: You can choose to add your chopped fruit here or add it after the cheesecake has set. See notes. 
8. Cover with the tin with cling film and return to the fridge to set. Chill for at least 4 hours. You may also choose to chill it overnight.


4. Prepare the topping:
1. If you haven't already, chop/slice the fruit. Set aside.
2. Prepare the jelly mix: put the jelly crystals in a bowl. 
3. Add the boiling hot water into the bowl and mix well. Allow it to cool
4. Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and arrange the fruit on the top of the cheesecake. If your jelly mixture hasn't cooled enough, return the cheesecake to the fridge, making sure to cover the top with clingfilm.
5. Once your jelly mixture has cooled, gently pour it on top of your cheesecake. Return the tin to the fridge to allow the jelly to set.
 
5. Unmould and serve!

 
 

Notes: 

• The original recipe uses a pyrex/heavy glass square tray so that you can cut square/rectangle single serves. I don't have a big enough glass square pan so I used a 9 inch springform pan instead. 
• Also, using a springform tin makes it easier to unmould the cheesecake. 
• As you can see, I have a few options for the gelatine mix:
• Option 1: Original measurements. This yielded a very jelly-like/bouncy cheesecake layer. It was interesting (and the guys at hubby's office devoured it) but I found that it muted the cheese flavour of the cheesecake layer. The freshly mixed cheesecake filling was runnier, like a milkshake, which meant that any intial lumps you got from pouring the cheesecake filling into the tin would quickly melt into the mixture, giving a clean, smooth surface.
• Option 2: Lower quantity of gelatine mix but keeps the same gelatine:water ratio. This yielded a more mousse like texture. It was not as bouncy as Option 1 and the cheese flavour here was stronger. I prefered the texture and taste than Option 1. However, less water in this mix meant that the cheesecake batter was not as runny and didn't smoothe out as easily. This is not an issue if you are completely covering the cheesecake layer with fruit (the way I did with the mango cheesecake) but if you're leaving gaps (like I did with the strawberry cheesecake) this might be an issue. 
• Option 3: I will be keeping the original amount of water but reducing the gelatine powder. We'll see if this is the perfect compromise.  
• The original recipe asks for vanilla extract rather than vanilla bean paste. I used vanilla bean paste because I wanted the vanilla flavour to stand out. And I like seeing little bits of vanilla seeds in my cheesecake.
•  The original recipe suggests mixing hot water into the jelly mix before adding cold water. I found that adding cold water made the jelly solidify unevenly and quickly. Some of my leftover jelly turned out quite lumpy. The strawberry jelly also wept onto the cheesecake layer over time.  In this photo, you can see some weeping down the side. Also, the jelly layer, while pretty, looks a bit uneven.
  
  
• The original recipe suggested putting the cut strawberries on top of the cheesecake mixture before you put it in the fridge to set. I didn't do this because:
• I didn't like the idea of chilling cut fruit for too long. Even though the top layer was covered with cling wrap, I was worried that the air within the tin might dry out the fruit. The fruit tends to keep better once doused in the jelly as well.  
• I used a lot more strawberries (and in my second attempt, mango cubes) than the original recipe. I didn't want the fruit to sink into the mixture - definitely an issue to consider with the mango cheesecake seeing how I wanted the mangos to completely cover the cake. As you can see in this photo, you don't have a clean topping layer and you can see the strawberry sinking into the cake.