In recognition of National Cheesecake Day in the United Kingdom on July 30, the Aldi UK discount supermarket chain is promoting a selection of frozen desserts and recipes to sweeten the occasion. As the date is also the 202nd anniversary of Emily Bronte’s birth, it’s a sure bet that many among the legion of Wuthering Heights fans worldwide will celebrate the occasion with cheesecake and a champagne toast to the author of the literary masterpiece.
For those partial to classic desserts, Aldi’s New York Cheesecake (£2.49, 550 grams), available in Vanilla or Lemon, is a good choice. The traditional crumbly digestive biscuit base is topped with a creamy and silky-smooth full fat soft cheese and flavored with vanilla or lemon. Simple, sweet yet reminiscent of the New York classic.
The Specially Selected Cheesecakes are rich, indulgent and available in Belgian Chocolate or Lemon & Mascarpone (£2.99). The first option, weighing in at 560 grams, features a crunchy digestive base and is hand finished with a chocolate ganache, milk chocolate and Belgian chocolate curls, while the Lemon & Mascarpone (539 grams) offering is flavored with a zesty lemon sauce and topped with candied lemon pieces. Simply defrost and eat.
Can’t choose between ice cream and cheesecake? Well, shoppers can have both with Aldi’s Specially Selected Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (£1.89, 480ml). Made with British Double Cream, this creamy dairy cheesecake flavored ice cream features swirls of strawberry sauce and crunchy digestive biscuit pieces. What’s more, or actually what’s less, is that it’s over £1 cheaper than Häagen-Dazs’ Ice Cream Strawberry Cheesecake, which is offered for £3 at ASDA stores.
For those looking to bake up their own cheesecake delights, Aldi has recipes for doing just that at home. Three of them follow:
Baked Strawberry Cheesecake (8 servings)
Ingredients
- 2 x 227g Packs Strawberries
- 200g Digestive Biscuits
- 100g Unsalted Butter
- 40g Flaked Almonds
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 2 x Medium Eggs
- ½ tsp Vanilla Essence
- 150ml Soured Cream
- 2 x 200g Packs Plain Soft Cheese
- 50g Ground Almonds
- Sunflower Oil for greasing
- 22cm Spring Clip Cake Tin
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Lightly grease the sides and base of the cake tin.
Break up the biscuits and put into a food processor.
Process until you have crumbs.
Melt the butter – add this to the biscuit crumbs and mix well.
Use to line the base and halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
Put in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes.
Wash and dry the strawberries.
Keep 4 back for decoration – remove the green leaves and finely chop the rest.
In a bowl mix the eggs, soft cheese, sour cream, caster sugar, ground almonds and vanilla essence.
Gently mix in the chopped strawberries.
Put the mixture into the cake tin.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until just set.
Remove and allow to cool.
Remove from the tin – decorate with remaining strawberries and serve.
Summer Berry Cheesecake (8 servings)
Ingredients
- 130g Digestive Biscuits
- 60g Scottish Butter
- 135g pack Delicious Desserts Strawberry Jelly
- 200g pack Full Fat Soft Cheese
- 150ml Scottish Double Cream
- 100g Strawberries
- 200g Scottish Raspberries
- 100g Blackberries
- Juice ½ Lemon
- 2lb loaf tin
Method
Line the base and sides of the loaf tin with some tin foil.
Break up the biscuits and put into a food processor and turn into fine crumbs.
Melt the butter and mix in with the crumbs.
Use this to line the base of the tin.
Put in the refrigerator to set.
Dissolve the jelly in 125ml boiling water.
Once dissolved add the soft cheese and whisk well to combine, and then allow to cool.
Whisk the cream until thick and fold this into the cheese mix.
Pour into the prepared tin.
Put back into the fridge and leave until just setting – about 20 minutes.
Slice 30g of the strawberries and scatter them along with 30g raspberries and blueberries over the cheesecake.
With a small spoon, poke the fruit down into the mix, and then put back in the fridge to completely set.
Mash 100g raspberries with the lemon juice, and then sieve to remove the seeds.
Once the cheesecake is firm, turn out on a plate.
Decorate with the remaining berries and drizzle over the raspberry sauce.
Gingerbread Cheesecake (10 servings)
Ingredients
Cheesecake
- 200g Gingernut Biscuits
- 75g Unsalted Butter, melted
- 675g Cream Cheese
- 250ml Double Cream (plus 200ml to serve)
- 125g Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 Medium Eggs
- 3 tbsp Plain Flour
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tbsp Caster Sugar
Poached Pears
- 5 Pears, ripe and peeled
- 75ml Maple Syrup (plus extra for serving)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 300ml Water
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 23cm/9in Loose Bottom Cake Tin
- Greaseproof Paper
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Line the cake tin with greaseproof paper.
Blitz the biscuits into crumbs with the melted butter.
Press into the base of the cake tin and slightly up the sides.
Whisk the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the cream, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla and whisk again until fully combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring and then stir in the flour.
Pour over the crumb base and bake for 45-50 minutes until set, but a slight wobble remains.
In the meantime, heat the water with the maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon.
Add the pears and cover, poaching for approx. 15-20 minutes.
Whip the extra 200ml of double cream with the caster sugar.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and, when cooled, pile the whipped cream on to the centre of the cake and place the pears around the edge.
Serve the cheesecake drizzled with maple syrup.
