This recipe, you’ll be able to make with complete confidence, eyes closed (or almost). I’ve already made it twice and I’m keeping it preciously in mind, because this dessert was a huge hit with my colleagues. You should know that my colleagues are getting used to testing everything I make, and since I’ve been at the school, I’ve had the chance to make a whole host of desserts of all kinds. This one is one of their favourites!
I pinched the recipe from Christophe Michalak (yes, I’m not going for originality!). He made it on his programme Dans la peau d’un chef and the look had really won me over. The look, mind you, because it’s still a cheesecake and… I don’t like it! On the other hand, if I can please others… ^_^
I didn’t have any coconut syrup like the chef (impossible to find in supermarkets), so I made do with coconut flavouring and icing sugar. Since then, Monin syrups have kindly sent me the coconut syrup I was desperately looking for, and I fully intend to test it soon.
For the reconstituted biscuit base, I advise you to pay attention to the proportions given. Here I halved the amount of butter and desiccated coconut, because by following the chef’s recipe, I’d ended up with an impressive quantity of biscuit. It’s up to you to adjust and “treat yourself”, as the chef would say! 🙂
Ingredients & Method
4 components · Full recipe
Coconut Cheesecake Cream
Ingredients
- 200 g (7.1 oz) full-fat whipping cream
- 100 g (3.5 oz) mascarpone
- 100 g (3.5 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese
- Monin coconut syrup (or coconut flavouring and icing sugar)
Method
1
Place the bowl and the whisk attachment of an electric mixer in the freezer for at least 15 minutes (I use my KitchenAid: I run the stainless steel bowl and whisk under very cold water).
2
Pour the whipping cream, Philadelphia and mascarpone into the bowl of the mixer (or a large bowl) and start whisking at medium speed. Once the cream begins to firm up a little, increase the speed.
3
Sweeten with coconut syrup (to your personal taste), balancing with the sugar already in the red berry jelly mixture.
4
Be careful not to over-whip the cream (especially as the presence of Philadelphia and mascarpone makes it set quite quickly).
5
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain 13 mm nozzle and set aside in the fridge until assembly.
Shortbread Base
Ingredients
- 5 shortbreads (or breton sablés)
- 50 g (1.8 oz) melted butter
- 50 g (1.8 oz) toasted desiccated coconut
Method
1
Melt the butter in the microwave.
2
In a food processor, blitz the shortbreads to a fine crumb. Add the butter and toasted desiccated coconut and blitz briefly again. You can also do this by hand.
3
Roll the mixture out between two sheets of baking paper to approximately 5 mm thickness.
4
Cut a base using an 18 cm (7.1 in) diameter ring. Refrigerate until the base has set firm.
Quick “Jam”
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) blackcurrant jelly
- 1 lemon
- 50 g (1.8 oz) blueberries
- 50 g (1.8 oz) frozen blackcurrant berries (or more blueberries)
Method
1
Zest a lemon into a bowl.
2
Add the blackcurrant jelly, the blackcurrants and the blueberries (I used only blueberries). Mix everything together.
Assembly
Ingredients
- coconut flakes
- a few blueberries
Method
1
Take the shortbread disc from the fridge and spread the quick “jam” over the base, leaving about 1 cm (0.4 in) around the edge.
2
Pipe large, even mounds of cheesecake cream on top.
3
Heat a Parisian spoon (melon baller) over the flame of a blowtorch and use the back of the hot spoon to hollow out the cream mounds, creating semi-spherical craters.
4
Fill the hollows with a few halved blueberries dusted with icing sugar to make them shine.
5
Scatter a few coconut flakes and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Gallery
