Boozy Sweet Cherry Chèvre Ginger Biscuit Cheesecake

The farmer's markets in Ottawa have just been chock full of beautiful produce these past few weeks! This  Sunday, I grabbed a basket and with my four-legged best buddy in hand, took a glorious stroll down to the market at Brewer Park.

I picked up some great Art-is-In cheddar jalapeno bread, some tri-coloured green beans, some chèvre from Glengarry Fine Cheese and some gorgeous, plump, deep red sweet cherries.

Craving cheesecake (thanks to watching some old episodes of Nigella Bites) and inspired by my market purchases, I decided I would create a quick and easy, no-bake dessert to accompany my Sunday dinner.

Et voilà!

Boozy Sweet Cherry Chèvre Ginger Biscuit Cheesecake

 

 

Cherries:

1 cup pitted ripe sweet cherries
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 oz good quality gin

First, pit the cherries. I did this just by simply squeezing the pit out of the fruit. It is a bit messy, but it's pretty fun! There are other methods, such as using a cherry pitting gadget, but I like the squeezing method! In a bowl add the cherries, honey and gin together. Let the fruit macerate for15 minutes, while you make the other two parts of the cheesecake.

 

Crumble:

8-10 ginger biscuits crushed (admittedly, I just used store bought ones)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Crush the ginger biscuits. I actually just used my hands, to create a rougher, more rocky-like crumble, but you can also use a food processor if you would like it to be finer. Add the melted butter and brown sugar and mix together. This will be the base of the cheesecake.

Filling:

1/3 cup chèvre
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Cream the chèvre together with the honey. In a separate bowl whip the whipping cream together with the vanilla extract and the brown sugar. Whip the cream until it forms soft, fluffy peaks. Fold the whipped cream gently into the chèvre. This will be the second layer of the cheesecake. 

To assemble the cheesecakes, in a clear glass vessel, layer the crumble, then the chèvre filling and finally spoon over the cherries and their juices. You can eat these right away or let sit in the fridge. These can also be made overnight, for a dinner party for example. The recipe makes two (or one big) cheesecake dessert.

I hope you enjoy the creamy, summery, boozy flavour of this dessert!

-Tina (Turnip)