Cherries

I love cherries! Following on from my last post with my illustration of Max the Mouse with his Cake, I thought I'd post another watercolour I've just completed. And for those of you who like eating them here's a recipe for Max's Cherry Cheesecake which is truly scrumptious!

Ingredients

75g butter
175g lite digestive biscuits, crushed
110g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
50g chopped almonds
450g light cream cheese
3-4tbs Kirsch
half a jar of cherry jam, sieved
2tsps arrowroot
cherries for the top of cake, halved and stoned

Method

Grease base and sides of 8" cake tin with removable base. Melt butter and stir in biscuit crumbs. Press into tin and bake at 180 c/350 F for 10 minutes. Cool. Soften cheese with sugar and gradually add egg yolks, beating until smooth. Stir in almonds. Beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into cheese mix. Pour into tin and bake at 180c/350F for about 1 and a half hours. Cool and remove from tin. When cake is cold pierce top with a skewer and pour over a couple of tbs Kirsch. Bring the sieved jam to the boil with the remaining Kirsch then add arrowroot mixed with a little cold water. Cook until cleared and thickened. Arrange cherries on top of cake and brush jam glaze over top and sides to give an even coating. Chill thoroughly. Enjoy!!