Cherry & Eyeball Cheesecake (Lactose Free!)
Hello everyone and welcome back to another lactose free recipe. This week we are making a delicious vanilla cheesecake topped with a lovely cherry sauce and finished with some delectable eyeballs.   The recipes here have been tested with lactose free ingredients multiple times to ensure their success and deliciousness. As always, this recipe is lactose free providing you use the right ingredients. Always make sure your ingredients are safe.   Always remember that if you fail it is a learning experience and not the end of the world. Baking is something that takes practice. Failures give you an opportunity to look at what went wrong and why. That knowledge and experience is so important for any baker regardless of skill level. Everyone starts somewhere.
Servings: 1 yield(s)
Prep Time: 240 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 255 mins
Ingredients
    Vanilla Cheesecake
  • 250 g Lactose free digestive biscuits (Mcvities are my go to brand
  • 125 g Melted butter (lactose free) (Brand used - Flora)
  • 500 g ROOM TEMP Cream cheese (lactose free) (Brand used - Liddells)
  • 600 ml ROOM TEMP Cream (lactose free) (Brand used - Pauls zymill)
  • 1/3 cup Icing sugar (sifted)
  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 15 g Powdered gelatine
  • 1/2 cup Boiling water
    • Cherry Sauce
  • 3 cup Cherries (frozen is fine)
  • 1 & 1/2 tbsp Cherry juice (or lemon juice if you want a tangy sauce)
  • 1/4 cup Caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • Red gel food colouring
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp Water
    • Eyeballs
  • 20 Lychees pit removed (tinned lychees work well)
  • Blueberries
Instructions
    Cheesecake
  1. Process the biscuits until fine. Add in the melted butter and stir.
  2. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie tin and up the sides. Place the pie tin in the fridge so the base hardens.
  3. In a large bowl sift the icing sugar. Add the cream cheese, cream and vanilla essence.
  4. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth and light.
  5. In a small bowl place the gelatine. Add the boiling water and mix thoroughly to prevent any large lumps of gelatine forming. If you notice any lumps make sure you discard them.
  6. Add this gelatine mixture to the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the pie tin and smooth down. Clean up the edges and place the tin in the fridge to set.
    7. Cherry Sauce
  7. While the cheesecake is setting in the fridge it is time to make the sauce.
  8. Place the cherries, juice, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat.
  9. Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl.
  10. When all the sugar has dissolved in the cherry mix bring the sauce to a light bubble. Add in the cornstarch mixture and a few drops of the red gel food colouring and turn the heat down to low.
  11. Cook the sauce until it has become lovely and thick.
  12. Turn off the heat and move the saucepan to the side to cool down.
    13. Eyeballs
  13. Drain the lychees (if you are using tinned) and place them onto a paper towel to dry.
  14. Place a washed into the centre of the lychee. Repeat this process for the rest of the lychees.
  15. Place the eyeballs into the fridge to wait until the cherry sauce has cooled down.
    16. Decorating
  16. When the cherry sauce has cooled and the cheesecake has been setting in the fridge for an hour (so its has hardened slightly) it is time to decorate.
  17. Grab your sauce and spoon it onto the cheesecake. Place the little lychee eyeballs on top.
  18. If you want to make the eyeballs bloody like I have done simply place them into the pot with the cherry sauce. Stir so any leftover sauce coats the eyeballs.
  19. Place the cheesecake back into the fridge until it has set.
  20. Congratulations you have made delicious cherry eyeball cheesecake.
  21. Serve, devour and enjoy.