Prickly Pear Cheesecake 🌵

Ingredients

• 200g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 100g butter, melted
• 4 ripe prickly pears (about 300g flesh)
• 500g cream cheese, room temp
• 120g powdered sugar
• 300ml heavy cream
• 2 tsp powdered gelatin, bloomed in 3 tbsp cold water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• For the glaze: 150ml prickly pear juice, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp powdered gelatin bloomed in 2 tbsp water
• A fresh prickly pear slice, to decorate (handle with gloves — the skin has tiny spines)

How to make it

1. Wearing gloves, peel the prickly pears, blend the flesh and strain through a fine sieve to remove all the seeds — you need about 200ml of juice/purée.
2. Mix the crushed biscuits with melted butter, press into a 20cm springform pan and chill 30 min.
3. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until smooth, then beat in 150ml of the prickly pear purée.
4. Melt the bloomed gelatin, stir it through the filling, then whip the cream to soft peaks and fold in.
5. Pour over the crust and chill at least 6 hours or overnight until set.
6. For the glaze, warm the remaining prickly pear juice with the sugar, add the melted bloomed gelatin, cool slightly and pour over the top. Chill 1 more hour.
7. Decorate with a fresh prickly pear slice, slice and serve.