Our boozy Raspberry Gin Cheesecake is the summer dessert of our dreams!

Raspberry Gin Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the raspberry gin coulis:
200g raspberries (or frozen raspberries)
50g caster sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
50 ml gin (preferably a good raspberry gin like Three Wrens Raspberry Gin, but a berry-forward London dry or classic London dry will work too)

For the biscuit base:
100g Digestive biscuits
80g amaretti biscotti (use Digestives if unavailable - so that would be 180g of Digestives in total)
80g butter, softened
2 tbsp caster sugar

For the creamy filling:
300g cream cheese, full fat
200g mascarpone
300ml double cream
100g runny honey
1 tsp vanilla extract (essence or the seeds of one vanilla pod will work too)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

To garnish:
500g raspberries
1 tsp icing sugar (optional)

Method

For the coulis:

Put your raspberries, sugar, balsamic vinegar and orange juice in a pan over medium heat. Stir regularly until the raspberries become so tender that they easily break apart.

Sieve the raspberry mixture into a pouring jug, pushing the pulp through the sieve with the back of a spoon until you only have the seeds left - or a close as possible. Be sure to scrape the bottom side of the sieve to make sure that as much pulp as possible is mixed into your coulis.

Add the gin. Stir to incorporate and leave to cool before use.

For the base:

Preheat your oven to 180c fan/gas mark 6.

Either blend the sugar, digestive and amaretti biscuits together in a food processor or bash into fine crumbs using a zip-lock bag and rolling pin. Melt the butter in a pan. Add your biscuit crumbs and combine.

Remove and turn the base of a springform pan upside down and then put it back in place so that the ridge around the edge is facing downward. Press your biscuit crumbs firmly into the bottom of the springform pan (using the bottom of a pint glass is a great way to ensure the crumbs are evenly compacted).

Bake your base in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before using.

For the filling:

Beat together the mascarpone, cream cheese, vanilla extract, honey and lemon juice until the mixture is completely smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks.

Fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture a couple of spoonfuls at a time, completely incorporating each couple of spoonfuls before adding the next couple of spoonfuls, until all the cream is incorporated into the cheese mix.

Pour, pipe or spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base in the springform pan (make sure the pan is fully cooled before adding the filling mixture).

Leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

To garnish:

Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan.

Pour the coulis over the top of the cheesecake, aiming at the middle, until nice ribbons begin to trickle down the side of the cheesecake. (You may not need to use all of the coulis, any that is left can be saved and poured over ice cream).

Sit the fresh raspberries on top of the coulis, filling the top of the cheesecake.

Give a light dusting of icing sugar to finish (optional).

Enjoy!