Cheesecake Ice Cream

         I love cheese (well, this is pretty obvious when you look at the name of my blog!): I love to cook savoury things with it and, needless to say, sweet treats. No wonder, one of the most popular desserts in the world – classic cheesecake – is one of my favourite dishes as well. Whenever I yield to temptation to cook one, I try to restrict myself to having only one or two pieces and the rest of it – in case I don’t have a proper help for consuming it – usually goes into the freezer (luckily, it’s a type of a cake that can be easily frozen for up to one month). The only disadvantage is, if you suddenly have an urge to indulge into a piece of a velvety goody, you will have to wait for quite a while till it defrosts properly.

            Last year, however, I came across a cheesecake ice cream recipe. Wow! I’m actually a big fan of frozen desserts and the perspective of having my favourite cheesecake in the form of an ice cream was very appealing! It was a recipe by the British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson. Actually all her recipes are trust-worthy but since I had already tried her Margarita ice cream I was absolutely convinced that this woman is an expert in frozen yummy treats! As I don’t have a special machine at home, I couldn’t make this ice cream in a big container – it would have lost the creaminess in this case; setting it in small ramekins, with a crunchy base (just like a real cheesecake!) saved the situation. Now I can go for a cheesecake any time I want – just restricting myself to having only one piece…or two!

Recipe adapted from the original one by Nigella Lawson (www.nigella.com)

Ingredients:

150 gm waffles, crushed

40 gm butter, melted

175 ml milk

1 egg

160 gm caster sugar

125 gm cream cheese, softened

½ tsp vanilla extract

40 ml Bailey’s

350 ml heavy cream

Method:

1. Line six ramekins with foil. Combine waffles with butter, divide the mixture between the ramekins and press to form the bottom.
2. Heat milk in a pan till almost boiling. Beat together egg, sugar, cream cheese and vanilla essence. Still whisking, pour the hot milk into the cream cheese mixture and pour this back into the cleaned-out pan and cook till the custard is thick enough to cover the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool, them stir in the liquor.
3. Whip the cream till soft peaks, then gently fold it into the custard. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, cover and place in the freezer overnight.
4. To serve, dip the ramekins in a bowl with hot water, then run the knife along the edges to loosen up the ice cream and remove it from the ramekin. Garnish with fresh fruits.

Note:

1. You can use traditional digestive biscuits to make the base of the cheesecakes. Bailey’s can be substituted with any other creamy liquor of your choice.
2. If you are not quite comfortable with cooking a custard in a pan, place a bowl with it over a pan of simmering water and keep whisking till it thickens.