Easy vanilla cheesecake

Ingredients

• salted butter 75g
• digestive biscuits 250g
• soft cheese 680g
• icing sugar 75g
• vanilla extract 2 tsp
• double cream 300ml
• lemon ½, finely zested

Method

• Step 1

  Put the butter in a large pan and heat until it melts, then keep cooking until it turns golden brown and smells nutty.

  Step 2

  Put the biscuits in a food processor and whizz until crumbs. Tip into the melted butter and stir to combine.

  Step 3

  Take a 20cm springform tin and flip the base so the bevelled side is uppermost – this will help when releasing the cheesecake later. Tip in the biscuit mix and pack down, using the back of a spoon to smooth it. Chill in the fridge while you do the next step.

  Step 4

  Put the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beat briefly with electric beaters to loosen. Add the double cream, a quarter at a time, allowing the mixture to thicken as you beat – it should be thick enough by the end that you have to shake a spoon to release it. Beat in the lemon zest, then scrape on top of the biscuit base and smooth out. Chill in the fridge overnight, then slice and serve.

Nutritional data

• kcals 528
• fat 44.2g
• saturates 26.7g
• carbs 25.7g
• sugars 14.2g
• fibre 1g
• protein 5.8g
• salt 1g