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Cherry, Mascarpone Cheesecake Tart

A rustic, summer tart with a biscuit & almond base filled with a mascarpone, sour cream cheesecake filling & with a fresh cherry topping
Prep Time1 hr 15 mins
Setting time2 hrs
Total Time3 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Cherry Topping

  • 400 g fresh cherries
  • ¼ cup / 55 g white sugar
  • ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons / 90 ml lemon juice  from 1 ½ medium-sized lemons
  • ¼ cup / 60 ml water
  • 1 ½ teaspoons gelatine granules

Base

  • 1 x 250 g packet plain biscuits I use Griffins vanilla wines
  • ¼ cup / 25 g sliced almonds
  • 125 g butter

Cheesecake Filling

  • ½ cup / 125 ml full cream
  • ¾ cup  / 200 g mascarpone
  • 1 cup / 225 g sour cream
  • ¼ cup / 55 g castor sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ teaspoons gelatine granules
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml lemon juice ½ a medium-sized lemon

Instructions

Cherry Topping

  • Squeeze the lemons (½ cup in total, from 2 juicy, medium-sized lemons) and set the juice aside.
  • Stem and stone the plump cherries and slice them in half and place them in a pan with the sugar, ¼ cup of the lemon juice and the water.
  • Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stirring often, for 8 -10 minutes or until the cherries have softened. Leave them in the saucepan.
  • Place 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over the surface.
  • Find another, larger, heatproof bowl and place the smaller bowl containing the gelatine and juice inside it.
  • Carefully pour some boiling water into the larger bowl so that it reaches the same height as the gelatine and juice inside the smaller bowl and gently mix the water and gelatine together until all of the gelatine has dissolved.
  • Add the dissolved gelatine to the cherry mix, stirring it in well and set it aside whilst continuing with the rest of the tart, returning to stir it every so often. 

Base

  • Liberally spray a 25 cm round, loose-bottomed flan/tart tin with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake oven or 170°C conventional oven, on bake, with a rack situated in the centre of the oven.
  • Cut the butter into cubes and place it into a small saucepan. Let it melt over a low heat, then set aside. (Of course, you can just use the microwave.)
  • Using a food processor, process the biscuits and the sliced almonds until they are fine crumbs and place them into a medium-sized bowl. *If you don't have a food processor you can use a thick, resealable plastic bag. Fill it with the biscuits and the almonds, lay it flat on the bench, lay a tea-towel over it and use a rolling pin to bash and roll the biscuits until they are well crushed.
  • Add the melted butter to the biscuit crumbs and thoroughly combine the two.
  • Spoon the crumbs into the tin, evenly spreading them out and then use your fingers to press roughly half the crumbs, very firmly, into the sides so it is about ½ cm thick.
  • Use a flat-bottomed cup or glass to firmly press down the remaining crumbs on the base, also pressing the sides of the glass into the sides.
  • Place the base in the oven to bake for 10 minutes. Once done, leave it in the tin and place it on a wire rack for at least half an hour (you can make the filling during this time).

Cheesecake filling

  • In a small bowl, use an electric beater, on medium speed, to beat the cream for around 1 ½ minutes or until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
  • Place in a medium-sized bowl the mascarpone, sour cream, castor sugar and the vanilla extract and beat it all together for around a minute or until it’s nice and smooth. Set aside. 
  • Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over the surface.
  • Find another, larger, heatproof bowl and place the smaller bowl containing the gelatine and juice inside it.
  • Carefully pour some boiling water into the larger bowl so that it reaches the same height as the gelatine and juice inside the smaller bowl and then gently mix the water and gelatine together until all of the gelatine has dissolved.
  • Add the gelatine mix to the mascarpone mixture and beat in for around 20 seconds or until nicely combined.
  • Spoon the filling into the base and smooth the surface over with a palette knife to get it as flat and even as possible (make sure the base has cooled down to at least room temperature before doing this).
  • Place it in the fridge to set for 1 hour along with the saucepan of cherries.
  • After an hour, remove both from the fridge and carefully spoon the cherry topping over the mascarpone filling. Return the tart to the fridge and leave it to set for a further hour or until the topping has set like jelly. 
  • Remove the tart from the tin by first using a sharp knife to run down the sides in between the sides of the base and the tin, just to make sure it isn't stuck anywhere.
  • Then place it on an upturned, flat-bottomed bowl (it needs to be smaller than the tin) so that the side of the tin comes down around the bowl (with your help) and the tin base and tart are left sitting on top of the bowl. Place the tart, still on the base of the tin onto the kitchen bench.
  • Run a long, sharp knife around in between the biscuit base and the bottom of the tin to loosen it. Use a spatula (or two) to help slide the tart onto a flat serving plate and use a large, very sharp knife to cut it into 8 wedges (wiping the knife with a damp cloth between cuts stops crumbs from the knife getting on top).
  • Keep well covered with cling wrap in the fridge for up to 2 days.