Edinburgh Gin Plum and Vanilla Liqueur Cheesecake

Method:

1. Gently melt your butter either in a pan or in the microwave, try not to boil.

2. Lightly rub your 9inch cake tin around the base and sides with some of the melted butter.  Cut and place a disc of greaseproof paper on the bottom and strips tall enough to just reach the top of the tin round the sides until everything is covered.

3. Bash up your digestives into a rough or fine crumb depending on preference, either in a food processor or wrap in a tea towel and attack with a rolling pin.

4. Gradually add the rest of the melted butter a little bit at a time (you might not need to add it all) to the crushed biscuits mixing with your hands until fully combined.  The mix is at the correct consistency when you can take a handful and press it together and it only slightly crumbles when you touch it.  Too crumbly it won’t cut well so add a bit more butter to wet it  but not too much or it will set too hard to eat nicely so bash up and add more digestives.

5. Put all of your biscuit mix into your prepared tin and using your hands or the back of a spoon press down until as flat and even as you can make it.  Place tin in fridge to chill for minimum 30 minutes.

6. In a large bowl beat together your cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth.

7. In another bowl whisk your cream until it is happily holding a peak when you take the whisk out.

8. Add your cream to your cheese mix gently combining until smooth. 

9. Now add your Plum and Vanilla Gn Liquer.  This can be done to taste depending on how strong you like it but I wouldn’t add anymore than 200g or you risk the cheesecake not setting properly.

10. Spoon mix into lined cake tin and using the back of a spoon smooth down the top then gently tap the tin on the table to make sure there are no little air pockets.

11. Put your jam into a bowl and add add 50g of the Plum and Vanilla Gin Liquer. Beat together until all the gin has been incorporated.

12. Put a good amount of your jam into the piping bag cut a ½ inch nozzle and inserting you bag into the cheesecake pipe 6-8 bursts of jam deep down into your cheesecake.  You can do this in a pattern or random fashion.  Once down take the thin end  of a spoon long enough to reach nearly the bottom of your cheesecake and swirl it round a few times to distribute the jam throughout the cheesecake.  The top of the cake will now look pretty uneven so you can either leave it like this or use the back of your spoon and smooth it down again.

13. At this point your cheesecake is done.  However, and only if the top is smooth, you could add a final flourish by speading some jam evenly over the top as well just for presentation and to get a bit more Gin in!

14. Place the finished cheesecake into the fridge and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours, overnight preferably, carefully demould, drizzle with any left over Plum and Vanilla Gin Liquer and serve. 

Enjoy. G X