Tantalise your taste buds with our Gin & Tonic cheesecake

With the Autumn season here, enjoy your home comforts and baking at home; not only do we love a Gin & Tonic at Exeter Gin but we love cheesecake so what better way than to bring the two together! Try our delicious Gin & Tonic Cheesecake recipe:

Ingredients:

• 250g pack Digestive Buscuits
• 80g butter, melted
• 500g cream cheese 
• 500g mascarpone
• 80g caster sugar
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of half a lime
• Grated zest of 1 orange

For the gin & tonic layer:

• 6 leaf gelatine
• 2 wide strips pared zest and juice 2 lemons
• 2 wide strips pared zest and juice 1 orange
• Juice 1 lime
• 100g caster sugar
• 6 tbsp Exeter Gin or Granny Garbutt's Gin
• 300ml Fever Tree tonic water
• A few fresh lemon thyme sprigs or rosemary, plus extra to decorate
• Fresh oranges and a splash gin to serve

Plus:
20cm loose-bottomed cake tin (with a minimum height of 8cm)

Method:

1. Put the biscuits in a food processor and whizz to fine crumbs.
2. Pour in the melted butter and whizz until mixed. (If you don’t have a food processor, put the biscuits in a food bag, seal and bash to fine crumbs using a rolling pin, then mix with the melted butter in a bowl.)
3. Tip the buttery crumbs into the cake tin and smooth the base using the back of a spoon.
4. Put on a baking sheet (in case a little butter leaks out) and keep in the fridge to firm up while you make the topping.
5. Put the cream cheese, mascarpone, 80g sugar, grated zests and the lemon and lime juice in a large mixing bowl, then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
6. Spoon on top of the chilled biscuit base and level the surface with a spatula.
7. Cover with cling film and chill for 2 hours or until the filling has set firm.
8. For the gin and tonic layer, put the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes to soften.
9. Put the lemon, orange and lime juice in a small heavy-based saucepan with the pared zests and sugar.
10. Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and infuse the flavours. Strain into a bowl (discard the zests and berries) and keep warm.
11. Squeeze out the water from the leaf gelatine, then whisk, one by one, into the warm citrus syrup until dissolved.
12. Add the gin and tonic, whisk a little to mix, then pour over the chilled cheesecake layer.
13. Scatter over a few lemon thyme or rosemary sprigs, then leave to set in the fridge, covered with cling film, for at least 4 hours or overnight if you like.
14. When ready to serve, mix the oranges in a bowl with the gin, then leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
15. Scatter some fresh lemon thyme or rosemary sprigs over the cheesecake, then serve with the gin-soaked raspberries alongside.
16. Enjoy!