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wattleseed and lemon myrtle cheesecake

Wattleseed and lemon myrtle cheesecake

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Long, lazy summer days call for cool tasty indulgence, like this lip-smacking cheesecake with native bushfood accents.

Ingredients

Note: As the filling contains no gelatine, this cheesecake has a very soft set; if you prefer a firmer set, use 400g cream cheese and 150ml cream.

For the base

100g (one-third of a packet) ginger nut biscuits
150g (three-quarters of a packet) butternut snap cookies
Zest of half an orange
1 tsp lemon myrtle, ground
60–80g butter

For the topping

340g cream cheese, softened
200ml cream (thickened or pure)
1 tbs Wattleseed, ground
Zest the other half of the orange and juice of 1/2 orange
115g raw caster sugar

Decoration
Edible flowers
Handful of desert limes
Small bunch of native edible flowers
2 finger limes (caviar inside)

Method

Lightly grease a 23cm spring-form tin. Crush the biscuits; either put them in a sealable bag and bash with a rolling pin, or use a mortar and pestle. I like chunky crumbs, but you can blitz them in a food processor if you prefer. Mix the orange zest and lemon myrtle through the crumbs.

Melt the butter either in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove and mix it into the crumbs. Press the crumb mixture firmly into the greased tin with your fingers. Put the tin in the fridge to set while you make the topping.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer just to loosen it, until it is the consistency of thickened cream. This should take no longer than 45–60 seconds.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese. Add the orange zest, juice, sugar, wattleseed and mix again until the mixture resembles thick cream.

Spread the topping over the base using a spatula or knife. Decorate with the edible flowers and return to the fridge and leave to set for an hour or so.