So British

Mr. Love's British cheesecake

Hello everyone, I have a new recipe for you today. This one is not French but British and is from my husband Mr. Love. I told you last week, when I gave you the recipe for the French clafoutis, that Mr. Love is very sceptical and and critical when it comes to clafoutis; I must admit I used to be a bit the same regarding cheesecake. My friend Stephanie who was visiting us last week, insisted in having a cheesecake, so we made one - British style (completely without an oven - which is quite cool in the summer), and I really liked it... So there you go - here comes Mr. Love's cheesecake recipe:

Cheesecake-1

Ingredients: 

  • 200 g digestive biscuits - can be found in British shops if you don't live in Britain. We found ours in the British shop Sweet Suburbia in Hamburg-Ottensen. You can also order online.
  • a few handfuls of blueberries
  • grated rind and juice of 1 organic lemon
  • 1 sachet gelatine
  • 200 g low fat cream cheese
  • 200 g quark or fromage frais
  • 150 g natural yogurt
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 50g salted butter
  • 1/2 sachet vanilla sugar
  • sprinkling of yuzu powder (optional)

Cheesecake_2

1. Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs by placing them in a food bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then mix with the crumbs.

2. Press the buttery crumbs into the base and up the sides of a (pre-greased) 20 cm loose-based flan tin. Refrigerate for circa one hour.

3. Make the filling. Pour the lemon juice into a small heatproof dish and sprinkle over the gelatine. Leave the mixture until the gelatine absorbs the liquid, then microwave the mixture on low power for circa 30 seconds and repeat until the gelatine dissolves.

4. In a large bowl mix the cheese and quark or fromage frais. Add the yogurt, citrus rind, sugar, vanilla sugar and yuzu powder (optional). Beat until smooth, then beat a small portion of the mixture into the dissolved gelatine. Add this gelatine mixture to the cheese mixture and beat well. Pour into the crumb crust and wash a few handfuls of blueberries and sprinkle them on the cheesecake. Refrigerate for 3 hours until set.

Remove the cheesecake from the tin. Serve with a fruit coulis, e.g. pureed blueberries mixed with icing sugar to taste.

Cheesecake_3

Have a lovely Sunday evening!

Elodie

Tea Party by Miss O.

I followed the instruction from the invitation, and went to Miss O's place at five o'clock on Sunday for tea.To go with the tea - I prepared some cucumber stars in the afternoon. The dress code had been perfectly respected: red, blue and white with some floral print. and obviously, we had some pimm's, to pimp up the tea! It was a very fine tea party indeed.

Tea Party Invitation

Yesterday I received a very mysterious letter - I have been invited to a Tea Party - The old English way - red, blue, white - it's always right.The invitation comes from Miss O. and is very beautiful. It says that I can bring something to eat - something sweet like biscuits, cupcakes or macarons -  or something savory like small sandwiches or finger food. I also have to respect the dress code - I can only wear red, blue and white - and no trousers. In order to seek for inspiration I made myself a little present: The lovely Vintage Tea Party book I have been wanting to buy for ages by Angel Adoree. Thank you Miss O. and see you tomorrow.

Ploughman's Dinner

A ploughman's lunch is a cold snack or meal originating in the United Kingdom, served in pubs, composed of cheese, bread .Other common additions are grapesIt is usually served with beer. I decided to call my version ploughman's dinner (I'm sure you can guess why).

To make it a bit more international, I chose French cheeses and wine, and some German fruit mustard. The cheese biscuits (instead of bread come directly from the UK). It is perfect for a meal in front of the TV. Here are some pictures and the music to go with: Land of Hope and Glory.

very british

Today, I found this fantastic teapot at Habitat. It is designed for Habitat by the London- based wallpaper designer Lizzie Allen. It might be slightly kitsch, but I love it! see you soon, it is time for a nice cup of tea.  

Aujourd'hui j'ai trouvé cette magnifique théière chez Habitat. Elle a été dessinée pour Habitat par la créatrice de papier peint londonienne Lizzie Allen. C'est peut-être un peu kitch mais j'adore! A bientôt, moi je vais me faire une bonne tasse de thé maintenant!