No-Bake vanilla and strawberry cheesecake

English strawberries are just too lovely at the moment to resist and they make a perfect topping for this simple cheesecake.

This cheesecake could not be easier to make – it doesn’t require any cooking, only contains 7 ingredients and barely takes 20 minutes from start to refrigerator!

Of course, you can use any fruit for the topping. I loved the way that half the strawberries are kept whole and the other half turned into a lovely thick coulis.

The CCB (Caked Crusader’s Brother) declared that this was the cheesecake he’d been waiting for me to make. After all my attempts, I’ve finally found the cheesecake he’s been wanting for years! He has now said that he needs to find something else to nag about......

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

250g digestive biscuits (personally, I prefer hobnobs for a cheesecake base but I bowed to family pressure)
100g unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod
600g cream cheese – I used Philadelphia
100g icing sugar
284ml double cream

For the topping:

400g strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
25g icing sugar
1 teaspoon water

Method

Place the ring from a 20cm round springform tin on the plate you’ll server the cheesecake from. Wrap the ring in either clingfilm or greaseproof paper to ensure that you can free the cheesecake easily.

Break the biscuits into crumbs – either in a food processor or with the bag and rolling pin method (i.e. place biscuits in a bag. Secure end. Bash with rolling pin)

If using the food processor method add the butter to the crumbs and pulse it until the butter is distributed. If using the bag method, melt the butter and stir in.

Use the crumbs to line the base of the cheesecake. Press them down onto the plate but not so hard that you create biscuity concrete!

Refrigerate while making the cheesecake.

Slice the vanilla pod in half and remove the seeds.

Place seeds in a bowl along with the cream cheese and icing sugar and beat until smooth and well combined.

Pour in the cream and beat until the mixture is completely combined.

Spoon over the biscuit base and level.

Leave to set overnight in the refrigerator.

To make the topping puree half the strawberries along with the icing sugar and water.

Sieve this mixture to remove the seeds.

Add the remaining halved strawberries to the top of the cheesecake and, when ready to serve, pour over the coulis/puree.

Remove the cheesecake from the fridge about 30 minutes (depending on your weather conditions!) before you wish to serve and remove the ring from the edge.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.