Goat’s cheese cheesecakes with red onion jam

Nothing ever goes according to plan. Especially not when you’re in a hurry. Especially not when you’re trying to make 1000 canapés in three evenings after getting home from work.

Thanks Sod for your silly law!

But wow, these a real show stopper when the they do work. Well worth the trials and tribulations!

The initial idea came from Great British Chefs, a fantastic compendium of ideas. Ideas that need a few adaptions to turn them into fail safe recipes…

Let’s just say molten cheese pouring out of my mould over the kitchen table wasn’t quite what I had in mind just hours before guests arrived for our drinks party.

But I am not one to be defeated!

With an extra couple of pairs of hands the runny mixture was quickly scooped back into a pan, reheated and plied with a great deal more gelatine than the first time around. Thank goodness for willing helpers!

And what a good thing the resurrection turned out to be! Creamy cheese, crunchy, nutty base and sweet onion jam on top. Absolutely divine.

These are going to be a regular at our parties that is for sure!

The one extra thing I will change (and I have in the recipe below) is make then slightly lower so they can be cut wider- my tall and thin cheesecakes had more than a passing resemblance of the leaning tower of Piza…

Give them a go- just be careful not to eat them all before the guests arrive.

Recipe

Makes 150 2cm squares

This could also be served with a little salad in larger portions as a starter

Adapted from Simon Hulstone via Great British Chefs

Red onion jam

1tbsp vegetable oil
400g red onion, finely sliced, long slivers cut in two
1tsp salt
50ml balsamic vinegar
2 cloves
3 juniper berries
1 clove of garlic, crushed
350g redcurrant jelly
A few springs of thyme

• Cook the onions with the salt on a low heat in the oil until softening for 10 minutes
• Wrap the cloves and juniper berries in a muslin and tie. Put this in the pan with the onions and all other ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for 40mins until thick and jam like
• Spoon/ pour into a sterilised jar until needed.

Cheesecake base

300g puff pastry
30g poppy seeds
30g sesame seeds
1tsp salt
150g butter, softened

• Roll out the puff pastry to 0.5cm thick and cook according to pack instructions. Remove from the oven and allow to cool
• Once cooled flake it up, mix in the seeds and salt and finally the butter to bring it all together
• Press the mixture into a 30 x 20cm tin with high sides
• Keep in the fridge whilst you make the cheesecake.

Cheesecake

1kg ash goat’s cheese (I used 8 Kidderton Ash which weight 130g each), ash rind removed
400g cream cheese
600ml double cream
6 gelatine leaves

• Beat the goat’s cheese to soften then mix in the cream cheese
• Soften the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for five minutes
• Heat the cream in a pan until it starts to simmer, pour this over the cheeses and stir thoroughly and beat until smooth. (If you are finding it hard to make smooth gently reheat it and stir until smooth)
• Mix the gelatine into the cheese mixture (make sure it is warm so it dissolves quickly)
• Allow to cool a little, stirring frequently to prevent a skin from forming, then pour into the mould on top of the pastry base
• Put in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours

To serve

Small box of watercress

• Cut the cheesecake into 2 x 2cm squares, top with some red onion jam and a little cress