Three ways with cheesecake: Make the most of summer berries and ginger with these tasty dessert recipes

By Rebecca Shearer

August 31 2020, 12:00pm

You only regret the things you never do, so we highly suggest keeping your regrets at bay and making these cheesecakes today.

It’s just over a month since National Cheesecake Day (July 30) was upon us and we’re distraught that we have to wait another 11 months until the next one.

But, when Aldi launched these recipes into the world we suddenly didn’t need an excuse to wait anymore and got to making them straight away.

Whether you’re a fan of berries, or lean a bit more towards the spicy side of life, we guarantee there will be at least one here to tickle your taste-buds.

If you enjoyed these recipes, or you’re looking for some more inspiration, take a look at our previous three ways with for more ideas.

Baked Strawberry Cheesecake

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

2 x 227g pack fresh strawberries
200g digestive biscuits
100g unsalted butter
40g flaked almonds
100g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
½ tsp vanilla essence
150ml soured cream
2 x 200g packs plain soft cheese
50g ground almonds
Sunflower oil for greasing

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease the sides and base of the cake tin.
Break up the biscuits and put into a food processor. Process until you have crumbs. Melt the butter – add this to the biscuit crumbs and mix well. Use to line the base and halfway up the sides of the cake tin. Put in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
Wash and dry the strawberries. Keep 4 back for decoration – remove the green leaves and finely chop the rest.
In a bowl mix the eggs, soft cheese, sour cream, caster sugar, ground almonds and vanilla essence. Gently mix in the chopped strawberries. Put the mixture into the cake tin.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until just set. Remove and allow to cool. Remove from the tin – decorate with remaining strawberries and serve.

Summer Berry Cheesecake

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

130g digestive biscuits
60g butter
135g pack delicious desserts strawberry jelly
200g pack full fat soft cheese
150ml double cream
100g fresh strawberries
200g raspberries
100g fresh blackberries
Juice ½ lemon

Method

Line the base and sides of the loaf tin with some tin foil. Break up the biscuits and put into a food processor and turn into fine crumbs. Melt the butter and mix in with the crumbs. Use this to line the base of the tin. Put in the refrigerator to set.
Dissolve the jelly in 125ml boiling water. Once dissolved add the soft cheese and whisk well to combine, then allow to cool.
Whisk the cream until thick and fold this into the cheese mix. Pour into the prepared tin. Put back into the fridge and leave until just setting – about 20 minutes.
Slice 30g of the strawberries and scatter them along with 30g raspberries and blueberries over the cheesecake. With a small spoon, poke the fruit down into the mix, then put back in the fridge to completely set. Mash 100g raspberries with the lemon juice, then sieve to remove the seeds.
Once the cheesecake is firm, turn out on a plate. Decorate with the remaining berries and drizzle over the raspberry sauce.

Gingerbread cheesecake

(Serves 10)

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

200g gingernut biscuits
75g unsalted butter, melted
675g cream cheese
250ml double cream (plus 200ml to serve)
125g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium eggs
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp caster sugar

For the poached pears:

5 pears, ripe and peeled
75ml maple syrup (plus extra for serving)
1 tsp vanilla extract
300ml water
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line the cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Blitz the biscuits into crumbs with the melted butter. Press into the base of the cake tin and slightly up the sides.
Whisk the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the cream, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla and whisk again until fully combined. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring and then stir in the flour. Pour over the crumb base and bake for 45-50 minutes until set, but a slight wobble remains.
In the meantime, heat the water with the maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the pears and cover, poaching for approx. 15-20 minutes. Whip the extra 200ml of double cream with the caster sugar.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and, when cooled, pile the whipped cream on to the centre of the cake and place the pears around the edge. Serve the cheesecake drizzled with maple syrup.