Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Trifle

Nothing shouts summer like this cool, refreshing strawberry lemonade cheesecake trifle. It has all things cool and don't you worry, there is no way you can mess it up like Rachel did! :p

Amazingly easy to put together, very forgiving, looks pretty and most of the ingredients you'll find in your pantry. Not many reasons for you to not give it a try.

Ingredients [4 servings]:

BISCUIT LAYER-

8-10 digestive biscuits (depending on how thick you want your biscuit layer)

20gm butter

LEMON CHEESECAKE FILLING-

250gm cream cheese/ hung curd

1/2 cup fresh cream

1/4 cup castor sugar

Juice and zest of lemon (according to your preference and taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

STRAWBERRY LAYER-

10-15 frozen strawberries

Method:

BISCUIT LAYER-

1. Put the digestive biscuits into a ziploc bag and bash them up using a rolling pin. Leave them a little chunky.

2. Melt the butter and add it to the crushed biscuits.

3. Add a pinch of salt if you're using unsalted butter, and mix everything together.

LEMON CHEESECAKE FILLING-

1. Add room temperature cream cheese to a bowl and loosen it using a spatula.

2. Add fresh cream and castor sugar to it and mix well until no lumps.

3. Squeeze in some lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Incorporate well.

4. Refrigerate for some time.

STRAWBERRY LAYER-

1. Defrost strawberries either in defrost mode of the microwave, or let it sit at room temperature for around 3-4 hours.

2. Place them in a ziploc and squish them using a rolling pin (but trust me it's much more fun with hands, but yeah, also messy :p). We want them half chunky, half juicy.

ASSEMBLING-

1. Take any serving glass of your choice, or a trifle dish.

2. Firstly, put a layer of buttered biscuits, followed by a generous layer of your lemon cheesecake filling, and then a layer of defrosted strawberries.

3. Repeat the layers however you like, and how many times you like.

4. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, or just few strawberries and crushed up biscuits.

5. Refrigerate for an hour or two before serving.

Check out these pretty layers!

Important Tips:

- If you happen to not find cream cheese, you can easily replace it with equal amount of hung curd.

- If your cheesecake filling has lumps, use a whisk and it'll be all smooth.

- Use good quality vanilla extract, and not essence. It does make a big difference, really!

- Make sure to only zest the yellow part of the lemon, and not the white part (it's bitter and will ruin your dessert).

- You can also use limes instead of lemons. Even oranges, I guess.

- And blueberries, or any other berries of your choice instead of strawberries.

- Storage tips: Well, there won't be any leftovers :p . But just in case, it'll stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

A very simple yet fancy dessert put together in under an hour, with few chances of messing up and maximum chances of impressing anybody who tastes it. Do you need more motivation to give it a try?