Layered Raspberry and Lemon Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts, I love the creaminess of the filling, teamed with the crispy crunch of the base and a lovely tartness in the topping.

I stumbled across the fabulous The Italian Dish recently, and this week she made little cheesecakes in jars. In a previous post she also made a cheesecake parfait in glasses. I fancied a dessert last night, but didn't want to spend hours mixing and baking a cheesecake, so I followed her idea and deconstructed a no bake cheesecake and served it in jars (because how cool is that). I used fresh raspberries and loaded up the cheesecake with lemon juice, and used wholemeal digestive biscuits for the crumb mixture, and it was a little jar of decadence. It would also be fabulous with strawberries or other berry fruit. I'm going to experiment with the idea and try a caramel sauce and grated chocolate version with Baileys in the cheesecake mixture instead of lemon. Then it will definately be time to get back on that treadmill.

Layered Raspberry and Lemon Cheesecake

• 200 grams wholemeal digestive biscuits
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 400 grams cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• juice of 2 lemons
• 400 grams raspberries

Method

1. Crush the biscuits into crumbs using a food processor or by hand and mix with the melted butter
2. Sprinkle the raspberries with a little sugar and mash slightly, set aside
3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy, add the lemon juice and sour cream and beat a bit more

4. Put a layer of crumbs in the bottom of a jar or glass, top with some cheesecake mixture then with a spoonful of raspberries, repeat the layering until you get to the top of the jar, and finish with a sprinkling of the biscuit crumbs.