It is without a doubt the cocktail of the summer.
The classic of Italian aperetivo with its distinctive orange colour and a taste that in an instant can mentally transport you to glowing sunsets on the Amalfi Coast or a street-side café in Rome or Milan.
We have all been perfecting our Aperol recipes all summer long, and now, my friends, now your obsession is about to be taken up a notch.
Say hello to Aperol Spritz cheesecake – a cake so trendy and SO summer 2018 you’ll have the entire neighbourhood lining up for a taste, no doubt.
The best bit?
It is actually fairly straight forward to whip up.
Aperol spritz cheesecake
For the base
- 125g digestive biscuits
- 60g butter, melted
- 10g popping candy or space dust (such as 2 packets of Fizz Wiz), optional
For the filing
- 500g full fat cream cheese
- 100g mascarpone
- 100g icing sugar
- finely grated zest of 1½ oranges
- 300ml double cream
For the jelly
- 4½ sheets leaf gelatine
- 250ml Prosecco or other sparkling wine
- 1½ tbsp caster sugar
- 75ml Aperol
- 120ml orange juice (about 2 medium oranges), strained
To decorate
- slices of orange, to serve
Instructions
- Line the base of a 20cm spring-form tin, at least 7cm deep, with baking paper and set aside.
- Blitz the digestives in a food processor until fine and sandy. Tip into a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir together until the mixture forms clumps then stir in the popping candy. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and press down with the back of a spoon until you have an even layer. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- For the filling, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and icing sugar together until smooth. Add the orange zest and cream and beat again until thick enough that a spoon can stand upright in the mixture. Spoon onto the base and carefully smooth over into as even a layer as possible. Return to the fridge while you make the jelly.
- To make the jelly, first cover the gelatine leaves with cold water in a bowl. Set aside. Pour about 50ml of the prosecco into a small pan and place over a low heat. Add the sugar, stir to dissolve then simmer for 3-4 minutes, until slightly reduced and syrupy. Remove from the heat; squeeze the excess water from the gelatine leaves then add them to the pan, stirring until melted. Add the Aperol and orange juice, pour into a measuring jug and set aside in the fridge for about 45 minutes until the jelly is just at setting point (it will thicken, but still be liquid). Give it good whisk to break up any lumps, then gently stir in the remaining prosecco. This should capture some bubbles in the jelly. Pour over the cheesecake and leave to set for at least 4 hours.
- Use a palette knife to loosen the cheesecake around the edges of the tin, then remove the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Decorate with orange slices, and use a large knife dipped in hot water to slice the cheesecake neatly.
Now all you need is a drink to go with that slice of cheesecake, mama, and sure we know JUST the one…
