Happy Saturday and happy spring! Spring has finally arrived – and my what an impression has it decided to make this year. Apparently, this side of the world, March 2017 is the warmest since I don’t know how many years. Great for summer lovers, not so good for our glaciers and passionate hibernators. What does this mean for culinary nerds? Time for fresh and light treats. Also, time to bring dusty kitchen gadgets back to life.

My newest gadget? A sous-vide cooker. Best. Christmas. Present. Ever. (No offence to all others – your gifts were great too..). Now, what does that mean? To cook under vacuum. That’s right – you vacuum pack/seal everything before cooking it in a water bath, allowing your whatever to be completely evenly cooked at a constant low-ish temperature. Super exciting. Amazing results. Totally worth the effort. And you can even control it via bluetooth/wi-fi. I don’t think I have managed to serve such tender duck before in my life.
Anyways, back to spring. And time for a dessert. Spring desserts = berries & lemon. Ok, that’s a lie, all desserts must include some sort of citrus if you ask me, not matter what the season. Now, to incorporate my sous vide into the equation I came up with:

lemon + berries + fresh + sous vide = sous vide lemon cheesecake topped with berries

Obviously. Ok, not quite. It was the first water-bath dessert that came to mind. Nevertheless, fitting and worth a try. It turned out surprisingly well, although, the consistency could be improved. If you happen to have such a gadget at home – go ahead and try it. If not, it’s high time to invest your money into something useful ;-).

Sous Vide Lemon Cheesecake

You’ll need

100g lotus caramel biscuits, crushed
30g butter, melted
340g low-fat cream cheese
95g castor sugar
60ml crème fraîche/sour cream
2 eggs
Zest of 2 lemons
ca. 70ml lemon juice
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all the berries
Icing sugar, to serve

1. Start by setting up your sous vide cooker in a large pot and fill it with water. Preheat to 80°C.
2. Arrange 6 empty jam/mason jars on a baking rack in the water, making sure that the water reaches 2/3 of the way up the jars.
   
3. Remove and grease the jars with butter.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine the lotus biscuits with the melted butter. Divide among the jars evenly and press into the bottom. You might have to make more as mentioned above, depending on the size of your jars.
5. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream together using a hand mixer or electric beaters (or just good old human strength). Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, add the eggs, beating well.
6. Add your lemon zest and juice. Combine until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Taste. Add more lemon if you please.
7. Divide your filling evenly between the 6 jars and close with a lid, closing only to fingertip tightness.
8. Carefully lower the jars into the water-bath, ensuring that the water is still 2/3 way up the sides, and cook for 90 minutes (I’m sure submerging works as well).
9. Once cooked, remove the jars and remove the lids. Allow the cheesecakes to cool to room temperature before chilling the fridge.
10. Serve the chilled cheesecakes with fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, basically all the berries and a dusting of icing sugar on top.