Would you beileve me if I told you that I only made this Clementine and Chilli Cheesecake last night, well I did.
There was a period of my life when I loved indulging in a slice of cheesecake: mango, rhubarb and strawberry being some of my favourite flavours, but then I got sick of the rich creamy cloddy cloy mass and avoided it for years. Its only in the last few days, I thought why not give it a go with my favourite spice: chilli and the seasonal fruit of the moment - the clementine! And this Clementine and Chilli Cheesecake was created for your eyes to feast on.
Eating my rather large slice was the easy part, getting the first slice out of the baking tin was a tad hard, I had to do it slowly and carefully, in fear that the whole cake would collapse, but it came out well.
The sweet flavours of the clementine come through and so does the chilli, not so hot to blow your head off, but subtle to tease and let you know its there in the background.
Clementine and Chilli Cheesecake
Serves 8
Ingredients
Packet of digestive biscuits
55g butter
225g cream cheese
280ml whipping cream
85g caster sugar
Zest and Juice from 2 large and firm clementines
Pinch of chilli flakes plus extra for garnishing
1 whole clementine, peeled and segments separated for the topping
Method
Grease and line the bottom of a 8 inch cake tin and crush all the biscuits in a bowl. Then melt the butter in a pan and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Tip this into the cake tin, spread out and press firmly with the back of a spoon. Chill in the fridge. Put the zest and juice of the clementines into a bowl and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Stir in the cream cheese until it is of a smooth consistency. Whip the cream in another bowl, then fold into the cheese mixture, finally fold in the chilli flakes until combined. Then evenly spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base. Smooth out flat, cover with cling film and chill for at least 2 hours; even better overnight.
When the cheesecake is set, remove from the tin and decorate with clementine segments and sprinkle of the chilli flakes. Slice and serve.
If you are Scottish, forgive me for preaching to the already knowing - but this part of the post is written for my non-Scots readers or those who may not have come across Irn Bru before. Irn Bru pronounced Iron Brew is Scotland's unofficial national drink, a fizzy bright orange non-alcoholic beverage.
Such is its popularity in Scotland that not a day went by when I saw a young Scot guzzling it down his throat at the bus stop, as if it were milk. When I lived in Glasgow, I would often witness a young man in a tracksuit on his way to work strutting a large bottle of Irn Bru under his armpits. Or in the evening on my way back home, ned and nedettes eating curry'n'chips and swigging from a can of Irn Bru. Oh such sights I do not miss. I had enjoyed watching the humorous Irn Bru ads though, many of which can be found on youtube.
I was also always amused when our American friends come over, they always take back a can of Irn Bru - I am surprised its gets past customs and then surprised it didn't burst on the journey.
Before I go on to share more about the Irn Bru Jelly, I must make a point about soft non-alcoholic drinks. You know the way some alcoholic beverages are not suitable for vegetarians and vegans, well this can also be the case for soft drinks. A number of soft drinks for example may use food dyes such as cochineal, which gives drinks a orange glow in the dark colouring. I know it sounds a bit silly, but I would never had thought that sweets contained animal products such as gelatine in wine gums animal rennet in crisps - remember Walkers cheese and onion; and don't get me started with Mars Bars, so nowadays I do my utmost to always check the labels. There is still some uncertainty as to whether Irn Bru is suitable for vegans, but I have been assured that it is suitable indeed.
Okay, having acquired my rather large bottle of Irn Bru for Burns Night - my Scottish theme night, I had great plans of creating lots of Irn Bru recipes, such as the Irn Bru ice-cream I had in Inveraray, Irn Bru Sorbet that I had in a Glasgow chip shop, Irn Bru Tablet somewhere in Ayrshire which I thoroughly enjoyed and Irn Bru Cake. However, the only one I managed to create was Irn Bru jelly. Well I was real chuffed with myself, it truly did taste like Irn Bru, the only bit missing was the bubbles, fizz and burps!
Maybe for my next Scottish evening I will try Buckfast!
I had two Irn Bru glass dishes left from my evening, on hearing this, one of my nephews took one for himself, the other he took home for the family to taste. When I went over I asked them how they found it, my youngest brother was surprised at the idea of Irn Bru Jelly and excited to try it, then he learned that he missed out, so he was a bit mift with my nephew for not sharing a taste with him, so I may just have to make some more again - for a big kids party, his Birthday is in February!
Recipe will be posted later this week
Its been a stinky day at work, rain...rain and more rain. After work, especially when I finish a tad early - I usually find my way to my parents and slump on their sofa in front of their fire, not today. I got the bus to my home and jumped pretty much straight away into my pyjamas and the hot water bottle was filled too, oh mustn't forget the coffee.
So while I am sitting here, waiting for D to come home. I thought I'd post one of the first recipes from my Burns Night Menu - a Vegetarian Haggis Lasagne. Its been a while since I made and more to the point eaten lasagne, so what a great opportunity to create one to showcase my home-made vegetarian haggis with a Welsh twist.
I know nowadays, the Internet is filled with lots of traditional haggis and vegetarian haggis based recipes from the likes of McSween the biggest haggis producers in Scotland, as well as Scottish food writers: Sue Lawrence, but for me I owe my further enjoyment of vegetarian haggis to Johanna. I remember only five - six year ago when I lived in Scotland, you just couldn't find a good vegetarian haggis based recipes on the internet and when you did, how to incorporate it in other recipes. The one place on the Internet where I did find some inspiration was Johanna's blog Green Gourmet Giraffe (a year or so before I began my own blog) I even remember one of the Scottish national papers there, acknowledging her website as a source of haggis recipe inspiration. Since discovering Johanna's blog, we have become good blogger friends and she has continued to create many other vegetarian haggis delights - such as haggis,neeps and tatties pasties, and haggis nachos which I think I may have to have later this week as I still have some haggis to use up.
Anyway, my Welsh Haggis Lasagne is very earthy looking dish, almost autumnal - except its the winter season here. For the Welsh twist, I've added some leeks in place of the onion. I've also added some meaty Portobello mushrooms to my haggis, this was mainly to give it more texture for the guests that were more used to eating meat, so its an optional extra. It was enjoyed by everybody who had it, including me. I liked the differential texture of the haggis, the oozyness of the bechamel cream and the chewy baked bits of the lasagne sheets and the just burnt crisp cheese.
To my knowledge, Welsh faggots are referred to as Welsh Haggis. Faggots were traditionally made with the innards of pigs. The pate like mixture is then wrapped in the lacy casing of the animals caul and oven roasted slowly, just like Scottish Haggis. there may be some truth in this as The Scotsman also make reference to haggis being popular in the Welsh Valleys of Wales, but they still credit the Scots for the haggis jokingly writing that a Scottish haggis escaping to Wales in 1690, hence its popularity in Wales.
You may be interested to note that in the few years there has been some questions as to the origins of the Haggis being English - to read more follow this link. Also, to view some of my past vegetarian and vegan haggis based recipes, follow this link
Vegan tower of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties
Haggis Burgers
Mushroom Haggis Pakoras/Bhajis
Vegan Haggis Bon Bons or Bites
Clapshot Haggis Tikkia
Haggis Roti
Haggis Samosa
