From Nigel's Kitchen Table
Strawberry Couscous Cheesecake
An easy no-bake strawberry cheesecake with a delicate couscous filling, ideal for relaxed summer entertaining.
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This strawberry couscous cheesecake is a no-bake cheesecake with a combination of strawberries, white chocolate, couscous and cream cheese filling on a biscuit base – it is just sublime.
It’s a winner! Delicious, easy to make and a great dessert for the strawberry season when family or friends are coming around to visit.
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- EASE: easy.
- TASTE: a creamy white chocolate cream cheese filling, topped with fresh summer strawberries.
- TEXTURE: a crisp base with a cheesecake cream studded with couscous pearls and topped with juicy strawberries.
- QUANTITY: 12 slices (23cm / 9inch springform pan)
- TIME: 60 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For this cheesecake recipe, all you need are these ingredients:
- Plain biscuits or digestives
- Unsalted butter
- White chocolate
- Double or heavy cream
- Water
- Couscous
- Cream cheese
- Caster or granulated sugar
- Fresh strawberries
- Salt – I highly recommend adding a good pinch of salt to your cakes. It might seem a bit weird, but it actually has the incredible ability to enhance sweetness, suppress bitterness, and elevate the flavour of all the ingredients, making your cake taste even better. It’s pretty crazy, the sodium in the salt sends signals to move glucose into your tongue’s sweet taste receptors, making the sweetness really pop. So, don’t be afraid to sprinkle a little salt – it’ll take your cakes to the next level!
- Vanilla – I use Taylor & Colledge vanilla products, they add a delicious taste to your recipes and enhance the other ingredient flavours: pure vanilla extract, vanilla paste or vanilla pods.
WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?
- Strawberries: If you don’t want to use so many strawberries you can just dice some up and add them to the filling.
- Alternative fruit: Try raspberries or blackberries instead of strawberries they make great alternatives.
EQUIPMENT SUGGESTIONS
I like this model of electric hand mixer because it comes with a large stand, meaning you don’t have to always hold it.
These measuring spoons are really handy for getting the right measurements of those small ingredients. I also like the fact that they are magnetic, sticking together and narrow to fit into spice jars.
These springform pans make removing cakes from them after baking a doddle. I personally tend to line them as often as possible to ensure that my cakes don’t break for added security.
NUTRITION
Serving: one strawberry couscous cheesecake slice
STORAGE AND FREEZING
This cheesecake keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Freezing: I would only recommend freezing the base and filling of this cake, made with only diced strawberries inside. And finishing the top of the cake on the day of serving.
Strawberry Couscous Cheesecake
- 23cm / 9inch springform pan
INGREDIENTS LIST
Biscuit base
- 200 g digestive biscuits
- 100 g butter
Cheesecake filling
- 100 g white chocolate (chopped)
- 200 g double or heavy cream
- 80 g water (boiled)
- 80 g couscous
- 400 g full-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste
- 2.5 tbsp caster sugar
- 200 g fresh strawberries (halved, see notes)
- 100 g fresh strawberries (diced, optional see notes)
Decoration
- 450 g fresh strawberries (see notes )
Preparation
- Line a 23cm (9inch) springform pan with baking/parchment paper. To stop the cake from getting stuck around the edge and clingfilm or acetate around the edge.
- Biscuit base: Melt the butter over a low heat.
- Crush the biscuits using a bag and rolling pin or food processor.
- Add the melted butter to the crushed biscuits and pour into the lined baking pan.
- Evenly spread the biscuit crumbs around the bottom of the pan. Then using a drinking glass with a flat bottom, press down to compact the crumbs to make a nice base for your cake.Place in the fridge to set while you make the filling.
- Cheese filling: In a small heatproof bowl add the chopped white chocolate and half the cream. Set the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water to create a double boiler. Stir occasionally until all the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it aside.
- Couscous: Boil the water and pour over the couscous in a small bowl. Stir and place a lid or plate over the top of the bowl to allow the couscous to steam.
- Cream cheese: In a medium bowl whip the remaining cream until the whisk leaves a trail behind it. Add the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and mix until well smooth and incorporated.
- Check the couscous is cooked and use a fork to loosen it up. Add it to the cream cheese filling along with the white chocolate and cream mixture. Stir to incorporate.
- Strawberry edging: Now you can either make the cake as I have with the strawberries around the middle or simple dice and add them to the cheese filling.If you are going to make the cake as I have with the strawberries in the middle, cut the tops of the strawberries then cut them in half and place them neatly around the biscuit base.
- Pour half the filling into the middle of the pan and using the back of a spoon spread it around and between the strawberries.
- Add 100 g of diced strawberries to the remaining filling and then add this to the centre of the cake, evening it out. (Leave this out if you diced all the strawberries for the centre.)
- Place in the refrigerator while you prepare the strawberries for decoration.
- Decide if you want to use strawberries sliced or in halves and place them in a circular pattern around the outside first and then working in towards the centre.Finally, I added 3 whole strawberries in the middle to complete the decoration.
Notes & Tips
FROM MY KITCHEN TO YOURS
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