Wimbledon, one of the great highlights of the British summer, is almost upon us — and that means strawberries and Pimm's, which come together beautifully in this recipe.
The strawberry cheesecake with a Pimm’s glaze is the brainchild of Gemma Simmonite, chef and co-owner of Gastrono-me in Bury St Edmunds.
We have a wonderful collection of the best strawberry recipes here if you’re looking for more inspiration.
Recipe: Gemma Simmonite’s Wimbledon cheesecake with Pimm’s glaze
Ingredients
Serves 8-10
For the cheesecake base
- 100g butter melted
- 225g digestive biscuits
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
For the filling
- 900g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 250g caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons of plain flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2tsp of lemon zest
- 3 large free-range eggs plus 1 yolk, room temperature
- 200 ml sour cream, at room temperature and stirred until smooth
For the Pimm’s glaze
- 100ml Pimm’s
- 300ml cloudy lemonade
- 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam
- 1 tsp of grenadine
For the cheesecake decoration
- A selection of strawberries and raspberries
- Thinly paired cucumber
- Crushed meringue shells
- Mint sprigs
Method
Start with the base. Heat the oven to 180˚C (160˚C fan). Tip the biscuits, melted butter, caster and salt into a food processor and blitz to make fine crumbs, press into the tin firmly and bake for 10 minutes remove and allow to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 220˚C (200˚C fan)
Next start the filling. With an electric hand whisk or tabletop mixer beat the cream cheese on a low speed for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the caster sugar, when incorporated add the flour, making sure to scrape down the sides. Now add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, eggs, and the egg yolk, again scraping down to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated. Add the soured cream and whisk on low until just blended.
Pour in the filling and bake for ten minutes, then reduce the oven to 110˚C (90˚ fan) and bake for a further 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door and leave for a further 2 hours.
For the Pimm’s Glaze, put the Pimm’s, lemonade, grenadine and jam into a small saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Boil for 8-10 minutes until reduced and syrupy. Strain into a jug and cool.
Arrange the strawberries, raspberries, meringue pieces, coiled cucumber slices, and mint. Then, drizzle with the Pimm’s glaze to make your toppings glisten.
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A British summer without strawberries would be unthinkable.
