Baked lime cheesecake with raspberries recipe

Baked lime cheesecake with raspberries is a nice twist on a classic cheesecake recipe - it's gorgeous, it's indulgent, it's the ultimate summer dessert recipe. There's nothing quite like homebaked cheesecake - it's so different to shop bought, and you'll always want to make the little extra effort after trying this recipe. It is a little time consuming, so it needs to be made the night before, ideally, but it's really worth the time that you put in because you end up with a really creamy filling with delicious fruit - you can even add any other of your favourite berries to this recipe, or whatever is in season. Berries go great with this lime cheesecake filling which has a bit of edge to it whilst being deliciously creamy.

Ingredients

For the base:

• 60g (2oz) unsalted butter
• 100g (3½oz) digestive biscuits (7 biscuits), crushed
• 60g (2oz) ground almonds

For the cheese topping:

• 700g (1lb 6oz) cream cheese
• 150g (5oz) caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 1tsp vanilla extract

For the cream topping:

• Finely grated zest of ½ lime
• 2tsp caster sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 284ml pot soured cream

To serve:

• About 350g (12oz) fresh raspberries
• 2tbsp icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp rose water
• Bakewell paper
• 24cm (9½in) round spring-form tin

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl. Use a little of it to brush inside the tin. Cover the base with a circle of Bakewell paper. Mix the biscuits and almonds into the melted butter. Spoon the mixture into base of tin, pressing it down with the back of the spoon. Chill for at least 15 mins.
2. Set the oven to gas mark 2 or 150°C. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Stir in the lime zest and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the biscuit base.
3. Bake the cheesecake below the middle of the oven for 1 hour, until almost set in the middle. Mix the lime zest, sugar and vanilla into the pot of soured cream, then spread this carefully over the cheesecake. Bake for another 10-15 mins until just set. Turn the oven off, open the door a little and leave the cheesecake inside to cool for about 30 mins. Then leave to cool at room temperature for a few hours. Chill in the fridge overnight.
4. To serve, run a hot knife between the cheesecake and the tin, then slide the cheesecake out of tin, removing the paper, on to a flat plate.
5. Put about a third of the raspberries in a bowl and crush them with a fork. Add the icing sugar, then the rose water and the rest of the fruit. Chill until ready to serve. Spoon the fruit on top of the cheesecake.