Sluttishly Sweet: Lemon (no-cheese) Cheesecake

I will be honest, when I heard that the next theme for our Just Desserts club was going to be Cheesecake I was a little disappointed. You see, I do not like cheese (most people I meet gasp in horror when I announce this). Nope, no cheese at all. Not even mascarpone or ricotta. So this month's Just Desserts Club was a tricky challenge for me to take part in. But, I persevered with ideas for making a Cheesecake-like dessert but without the stinky stuff involved. The result is this lemon-y creamy dessert on a crunchy biscuit base which I think resembles a cheesecake rather well.

By whipping up the double cream nice and thick and folding into condensed milk I was able to achieve the creaminess of a cheesecake, and the acidity in the lemons helps firm up the mixture to hold its shape. The cheesecake definitely would benefit from a long stint in the fridge to chill as the photo above shows there was a bit of wobble. 

Lemon (no-cheese) Cheesecake
You will need:

• 300g Digestive Biscuits
• 120g Butter, melted
• 3 Lemons, zested and juiced
• 280ml Double Cream
• 1 can of Condensed Milk (approx. 397g)
• Dried Rose Petals, to garnish (optional)

Make it!

1. Crush the digestive biscuits either in a food processor or with a rolling pin, plastic food bag and clean tea towel (give it a good bashing!) until relatively crumb-y. 
2. Stir the melted butter into the biscuits crumbs and make sure they are well coated.
3. In a prepared round tin, push the buttery biscuits crumbs into the base. Really push down, using your fingers is best, to get the base nice and tight.
4. Cover the base with cling film and pop in the fridge to chill.
5. Next, stir the lemon zest into the condensed milk and then gradually mix in the juice. Do this a little at a time to ensure the mixture doesn't curdle. With lots of stirring it should combine well.
6. In a separate bowl whip the double cream until it is firm and holding stiff peaks before gently folding it into the lemon-y condensed milk mixture. Be rather careful to not over-stir at this point.
7. Remove the biscuit base from the fridge and spread the mixture over the top. Cover the whole tin with cling film and allow the 'cheesecake' to set in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours but overnight would be best.
8. Serve with sprinkling of dried rose petals.