* Eton Mess Cheesecake

I think I may have an addiction to food shopping. Actually, I know I have an addiction to food shopping. 

One day I will photograph the contents of my fridge, food cupboards, freezers and emergency *just in case of a nuclear war that causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that create a Tsunami that melts all the icebergs and THEN we get hit by an asteroid* shelf in the cupboard under the stairs... and share them with you... and you probably won't ever come back.

I'm thinking of running away from it all myself. Possibly to Australia. With an Australian. With Hugh Jackman... Not Guy Pearse, he's kinda scrawny looking... Bruce Bannanannanaman has his horny moments though.

I think I'd probably take my food shopping addiction with me, and I can't see Hugh or Bruce being too happy about that. Guy could do with a decent dinner or two but he's not in the running. So. What to do.

Cue The Clash, front stage in my head "Should I stay or should I go noowwwwwwww".

Well I'm gonna stay. And I'm gonna cook it all. Then I'm gonna eat it all. I think I have enough food stashed throughout the house, to feed us for at least the next three months, other than for fresh vegetables.

I would LOVE to slowly get rid of it all and start completely afresh, but when I decide to use something up and enjoy what I've eaten - I go straight out and buy more so's I can make it again. Like with this cheesecake - I needed to use up some strawberries and cream cheese and I had a couple of meringue nests "waiting for God" in a packet on the *panic shelf*...

Sigh... it was so nice - I went straight out and bought another punnet of strawberries... and spotted some raspberries blowing kisses at me from the shelf beside them... and found myself wandering towards a box of meringues before my brain kicked in, took control of my feet and moved us (me and my brain), towards the checkout.

It didn't spot the box of cream cheese I'd stashed under the strawberries though.

Hah. My brain is so sssslow.

Oh.
Wait.

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Eton Mess Cheesecake Recipe

Serves 6

Prep time - 15 minutes

Chill time - 4 hours (or overnight)

Total time - 4 hours 15 minutes

You will need

A 20cm/8 inch loose bottomed flan tin

Ingredients

7oz/200g digestive biscuits (or graham crackers)

3oz/80g butter - softened

10.5oz/300g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)

2oz/60g icing sugar

9fl oz/250ml double (heavy) cream

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 mini meringue nests

large handful strawberries - chopped

Method

• Put the biscuits and butter through a food processor until rough bread crumbs texture achieved.
• Mold the biscuits into the flan tin, pressing gently up the sides (unless you want a thick base, in which case just cover the bottom of the flan tin).
• Pop the biscuit base in the fridge whilst you do the rest.
• In a food mixer (or with an electric whisk), beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl lightly whip the double cream, then gently fold into the cream cheese.
• Spoon the cheesecake filling onto the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula, put cheesecake into the fridge for 4 hours or over night.
• Just before serving - crumble over the meringue nests and pile up the strawberries in the centre - if you do this too early, the meringues will soften and the strawberries will get juicy and leak into the cheesecake and make a sloppy but tasty mess... YES... I'VE DONE THIS!!!! It's how I know. *sigh*.

EAT

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