Recipe of the week
Lebowskis opened over 12 years ago and is still going strong, serving the best burgers and our house speciality cocktail – The White Russian, a blend of coffee, vodka and cream. Most said we were mad but these hedonistic cocktails built an empire and people have longed to try all 35 varietals. All our drinks get their own names and we bring out special editions to mark occasions and personalities we love. Here, we’ve taken our cocktail and married it up with a fullblown cheesecake recipe. Laced with vanilla vodka, Kahlua and coffee, it’s an adult dessert that’s easy to make and amazing to share.
Lebowskis White Russian Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
For two you will need:
FOR THE CRUST: 26 Oreo cookies (about two packets) 100g unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING: 175 g powdered sugar 2 packets (455g-500g) cream cheese, at room temperature 50ml vanilla vodka Dash of vanilla extract 75ml cold double cream 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatin
FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING: 100g dark chocolate melted 100g butter melted 50ml double cream 50ml Kahlua coffee liqueur 50ml Cold espresso
METHOD
1 The secret to this is crushing up the Oreos finely and mixing with the melted butter, then press them into the bottom of your tin to make the base. Use the bottom of a rocks glass to get a flat finish. Opinions vary on depth of base so amend as you see fit. 2 I like loads as you can see. Just up the ratio equally to make more for a deeper tin. I used a tin can with the top and bottom taken off but it could easily be done in a large cheesecake tin. 3 The recipe is for a full size cheesecake. Then mix the cream cheese and sifted icing sugar and vanilla vodka. Dissolve the gelatin with cold water then mix into the cream cheese last. 4 Layer that mix on top of the biscuit base and chill for an hour. Whilst that’s chilling melt the chocolate over a bowl of hot water along with the coffee, butter, cream and Kahlua. 5 Let the mix cool then spoon onto the cream cheese layer and then freeze for an hour or two. 6 The freezer helps to set fully and then slicing is much easier. Serve with a White Russian on the side – simply add 50ml of vodka with the same of Kahlua to a glass filled with ice, then top with half milk, half double cream. Velvety, dark and fun. This one is for Sidney – Slainthe.