Recipe: Brush aside Tuesday blues with this strawberry and basil cheesecake

It is said that cheesecake will always taste like love and that is all the excuse we need to brush aside Tuesday blues by whipping up strawberry and basil cheesecake at home. Because you don't live near a bakery doesn't mean you have to go without cheesecake so, make Tuesday taste better with this lip-smacking dessert recipe of classic strawberry and basil cheesecake.

Ingredients for biscuit crust:

Digestive biscuits 150gm

Unsalted butter 65gm

Castor sugar 30gm

Ingredients for cream cheese filling:

Cream cheese 900gm

Castor sugar 225gm

Egg 4pc

Egg yolk 1pc

Vanilla essence 22gm

Lemon juice 5gm

Corn flour 18gm

Ingredients for strawberry compote:

Fresh strawberry 200gm

Water 50gm

Regular sugar 20gm

Basil 5 gms

Method for biscuit crust:

Crush the biscuits using a rolling pin into a fine powder. Take butter in a microwave safe bowl. Melt butter in spurts of 3 seconds while mixing after every session till completely melts. Mix it with the crushed biscuits with a spatula along with the castor sugar.

Take a 9inch cake ring and cover the base with tin foil tightly or use a cheesecake mould. Spread the mixture on the base of the cake ring and press it firmly to flatten it. Bake at 180°C for 10mins. Let it cool for 30mins.

Method for cream cheese filling:

In a bowl add cream cheese and mix until smooth using an electric hand mixer with the whisk attachment at medium-high speed. Add castor sugar and mix until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is fluffy at medium-high speed. Add in the eggs one by one and mix at medium speed until fully mixed together.

Fold in the vanilla essence, lemon juice and cornflour using a spatula. Pour the mixture on the baking biscuit crust and bake it using a waterbath at155°C for 160mins or until a golden crust is formed on top. Let it rest at room temperature for 30mins.

Shift it cheesecake to a fridge and let it chill for 3hrs at least. Take the cheesecake out from the ring using a palette knife. Cut the cake into 12 slices.

Method for strawberry compote:

Clean and wash the strawberries. Chop them into small pieces. Take a pan, add water, sugar, chopped strawberries and let it cook on low heat until strawberries are mashed and a thick chunky compote is formed.

Method for plating:

Place a slice of the cold cheesecake on a plate and spread a spoonful of the strawberry compote on the cheesecake and serve.

Benefits:

Strawberries are sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, low-calorie food and are packed with fibres and vitamins. They protect the heart by increasing HDL which is good cholesterol, guard against cancer and lower the blood pressure.

Their strong astringent, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidants properties not only protect skin from harmful UV rays but also treat burns and delay ageing. Strawberries prevent hair loss and the vitamin C in them encourages iron absorption and encourages better hair growth.