Name: Blackberry Mead Peach Cheesecake
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 7 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups blackberry mead (1 can, 360 ml); ½ cup lemon mead (140 ml); 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 ½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin; 16 ounces cream cheese , softened (500 g); 1 ⅓ cup powdered sugar (150 g); 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (or zest of 1 orange); 1 cup heavy whipping cream (240 ml); 1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches in their own juice (drained, cut into chunks) (425 g); 16 danish butter cookies (125 g); ⅔ cup unsalted pistachios (75 g); 2 ½ tablespoons melted unsalted butter (40 g)

This creamy no-bake cheesecake with a hint of orange and chunks of peaches is topped with a blackberry mead jelly. The pistachio and butter cookie crust perfectly complements the flavors in the cheesecake. Better yet, you can prepare a Blackberry Mead Peach Cheesecake in about 30 minutes.

This week was incredibly busy. We had a winter storm that made international news a few weeks ago. Classes were canceled so we all had to adjust our syllabi.

I was fortunate to not lose power but I did lose quite a few plants. I’ve had lots of yard work on top of getting ready for Spring Break and trying to catch up with work.

Every week I meet friends for dinner. It’s our little bit of sanity in this pandemic. This week’s theme was Irish food in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

My friend, Karen, made her famous corned beef and cabbage. Fred, brought beer bread and Kate made one of her famous salads. I don’t know how she does it, but Kate’s salads are works of art.

I was tasked with bringing a dessert with an Irish slant. Thing is, I brought my chocolate citrus stout cake a few weeks earlier so I needed something new. I don’t really know Irish cuisine so I went with British in general.

The Great British Bake Off often has cakes topped with “jellies.” You never really see those here in America so it must be a British thing.

I stumbled upon the British version of Good Housekeeping. They had a recipe for a canned rose wine jelly cheesecake. I’m not much of a fan of rose wine – especially not from a can.

I also happened to have some blackberry and lemon mead from a local brewery, Meridian Hive. So change the jelly a bit and change the crust to match.

The result was amazing. The jelly wasn’t your child’s jello. It was a slightly sweet, tangy blackberry with just a hint of alcohol. I’m thinking you could add some fruit and make it a summer dessert by itself.

The cheesecake is so simple and delightfully creamy. It pairs perfectly with the nutty crust and the tart jelly and peaches.

Sadly, the cheesecake was so good I only got pictures of it before we dug in. The good news is that it’s so easy to make I plan to keep this recipe in my back pocket for those days when I want something special but I’m out of time.

Yield: 8 inch cheesecake

Blackberry Mead Peach Cheesecake

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Crust

16 danish butter cookies (125 g)
⅔ cup unsalted pistachios (75 g)
2 ½ tablespoons melted unsalted butter (40 g)

Cheesecake Filling

16 ounces cream cheese , softened (500 g)
1 ⅓ cup powdered sugar (150 g)
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (or zest of 1 orange)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (240 ml)
1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches in their own juice (drained, cut into chunks) (425 g)

Mead Jelly

1 ½ cups blackberry mead (1 can, 360 ml)
½ cup lemon mead (140 ml)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin

Instructions

Crust

Line an 8 inch singform pan with parchment.
Pulse pistachios and cookies in a food processor until finely crushed.
Add melted butter and pulse until it clumps together.
Press into the bottom of the pan and then refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Cheesecake filling

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in Grand Marnier.
In a separate bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture.
Fold in peach chunks and spread evenly over the crust. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Mead Jelly

Put the cheesecake in the freezer while you make the jelly. This will help prevent leaks.
Put about 1/4 cup of the mead in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it to soften it.
Put the rest of the mead in a pan with the sugar. Heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir the softened gelatin into the hot mead until it's dissolved.
Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for 20 minutes (till cool but not set).
Hold a spoon over the cheesecake with the curved side up. Pour the chilled gelatin mixture over the spoon so you don't disturb the cheesecake underneath. Refrigerate until set (about 3 hours).

Serving

Rub a hot knife along the edge of the pan to loosen the jelly from the pan.
Remove the ring and then set on a serving dish.

Notes

If your springform pan leaks, set it on a jelly roll pan to catch any gelatin that leaks out. You can also line the pan with plastic wrap instead of the parchment paper to seal it so the jelly does not leak out.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 708Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 596mgCarbohydrates: 72gFiber: 4gSugar: 48gProtein: 11g

Nutrition information is provided as a guide only. Please consult a dietician for specific dietary needs.

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Blackberry Mead Peach Cheesecake