This cheesecake has been our family’s fail-safe Christmas Day dessert for years. It is my mom’s speciality and one that gets whipped up in minutes after mass and before the movie on Christmas eve. It is a no-bake cheesecake, so the filling of whipped cream, cream cheese and Irish cream liqueur of choice just all sets on top of a rich buttery biscuit base overnight.
Be warned; my mother disapprovingly tuts a little under her breath as I add the gelatine. I would say this … if you … and your cheesecake are travelling over Christmas and it needs to be transported, then yes … put it in gelatine. Think of it as your insurance policy, ensuring your cheesecake will set and travel well. Otherwise, as my mum will tell you when she meets you.. “You don’t need that gelatine”. Also, she claims I put too much butter in the biscuit base. Mine is firm. If you prefer a crumblier biscuit base, then add 30g less butter.
Oh, and to keep things on an even keel, I firmly believe my mum adds too much Baileys, but she reckons it’s just right, so I guess I will leave that one up to you.
Merrymaking from me and my mum!
Irish Cream Liqueur Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9” / 23cm spring form tin
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Biscuit Base:
- 400 g chocolate digestive biscuits
- 175 g butter
Cheesecake Filling:
- 500 g full-fat cream cheese
- 350 mls cream
- 150 g icing sugar
- 200 mls Irish cream liqueur
- 2 leaf gelatine
- 20 mls water
- 200 g Nutella
Instructions
Method:
- Melt the butter. Crush the biscuits. Combine the biscuits and butter together.
- Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Move to a separate bowl.
- Soak the gelatine in a little cold water for 5/10 minutes
- In a separate bowl whip the cream cheese and the icing sugar until it is silky. Slowly pour the Irish cream liqueur and combine well.
- Squeeze the water out of the leaf of gelatine and warm it with a little drizzle of hot water. Stir this into the creamy mixture.
- Warm the Nutella in the microwave until it reaches a runny drizzling consistency.
- Using a spatula, pour all the creamy cheesecake filling over the biscuit base.
- Drizzle on the Nutella and using the back of a knife or a skewer drag the chocolate up and down in opposite linear directions to create a design.
- Cover the cling film and allow to chill overnight.
- Garnish with some chocolate truffles, florentines, mini meringues, chocolate flakes, serve at room temperature and enjoy.
