Lemon cheesecake

OK, I admit, I don't even like cheesecake that much  - but my sister does, so I decided to make it as a welcome home present. Guess what the magic ingredient is? Yes! It is! Condensed milk!! We always keep a jar spare in the cupboard, as it seems to be useful for everything!* Except, maybe, quite a lot of things. :D Anyway, I ended up trying some despite my scepticism (Cheese? In a cake? ) and I actually thought it was nice, and the rest of my family said it tasted amazing too, so if you like cheesecake, bake away! Or rather, chill away...? It goes really well with raspberries, so I included a coulis recipe too, which takes about 5 minutes. Remember to make the rest in advance, though, as it needs to chill for long enough to set. Below to the right is a variation I made: by halving the recipe, I had just enough to fit perfectly into four small ramekins.  Cute!!

Lemon cheesecake
Prep time: 20 minutes and 5+ hours chilling
Serves: 10

Ingredients 
250g packet of digestive biscuits
125g butter or margarine, melted
Two lemons
397g can of sweetened condensed milk
300g soft cheese, such as Philadelphia

Method

1. Break the biscuits into crumbs, either by putting them in a sealed bag and whacking with the rolling pin or whizzing in a food processor.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix the crumbs with the melted butter. Spoon into a 23 diameter circular tin and press down firmly with your fingers, smoothing the surface over. Chill for at least 10 minutes in the fridge. (The smell here really reminds me of banoffee pie :) )
   
3. Whilst the base is setting, juice the lemons and zest them. In a clean bowl, blitz the condensed milk and cheese, until the lumps have disappeared and you have a smooth creamy mixture. Pour in the lemon juice and zest and mix with a metal spoon. 
   
4. Pour into the tin and smooth the top over with the back of spoon or a rubber spatula. Chill for at least 5 hours or even better overnight.
   

And once that's done, you can make the raspberry coulis:
Ingredients 

300g raspberries (Two packets)

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 drop of vanilla extract

A squeeze of runny honey, to taste

1. Whizz up the raspberries using a hand-blender, reserving a few (about ten) to decorate the cake).
2. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard of the pippy mixture. 
3. Stir in the sugar, vanilla extract and honey, tasting and correcting the sweetness if you like.
4. Serve drizzled over the cheesecake just before serving, with the whole raspberries arranged on the cheesecake. Have more raspberries handy, if you like, for people to help themselves.
   
   
   * Recipes I have done so far involving condensed milk:

• Ice cream
• Banoffe pie
• Millionaire's shortbread
• Lemon cheesecake