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I am currently doing my food technology GCSE coursework and need a Lemon Cheesecake recipe for next week.

I was planning on having an enriched shortcrust base, with a chilled lemon cheesecake filling. It will also have raspberry coulis and meringue peaks as a garnish.

I saw a picture on Instagram of a cheesecake with clear, strawberry jelly (I don't know if it was jello [American word for 'jelly' in British English], or jelly [a clear conserve]). I want to know what it was, 'jello' or 'jelly' because jelly requires pectin (thus heat) to set but jello just requires gelatin.

What is my best course of action, because in my eyes, if I make jelly, it would set too quickly, therefore I would need to pour it onto the cheesecake whilst it's hot, thus melting the filling; but jello wouldn't need any heat?

Cascabel
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adam
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    When you say "chilled" you mean a recipe with a filling that is never baked? If that's the case, you might consider looking for the key-words "no-bake cheesecake". Standard cheesecakes are always baked (as far as I know, in the US). – Catija May 19 '16 at 17:09
  • Also, if you can find the image again, you can add it to your question. It might be easier for us to identify that way. – Catija May 19 '16 at 17:16
  • Indeed, the source seems very relevant here, since you're asking about a US vs UK English thing. – Cascabel May 19 '16 at 17:49
  • I had experimented w/ what temperatures I could pour gelatin and still have it be clear. See http://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/54070/67 . What you might be able to do is pour a disk of gelatin, let it cool, then unmold it and set it on top of the cheesecake. If you have to, reserve some to place down as a thickened gel first, then add the disk on top. It might also be possible for a pectin-based gel to cook at the same time as the cheesecake (I think gelatin loses its gelling power if held near boiling for too long, if I remember correctly) – Joe May 19 '16 at 18:48
  • It may have been strawberry glaze you saw in the photo. It is made with a starch thickener, generally corn starch, and either flavored gelatin or fruit/juice. – Debbie M. May 19 '16 at 21:07
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    You also have agar agar, guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, gellan gum and carrageenan. Depending on the texture and clarity you require. Some of these require very little or no heat to gel and can just be poured over the cheesecake after. – Doug May 20 '16 at 23:35
  • Thanks for all of your answers. I guess I'll use gelatin because it's clear and sets slowly. – adam May 21 '16 at 10:24

1 Answers1

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Probably the jelly is something like the brand Oetker which comes clear or fruit-flavoured. It is indeed poured warm; cheesecake will survive if it's a cm or less layer.

Alternatively, boil up some apricot jam (or strawberry), take off heat a few minutes and sieve through a tea strainer over cheesecake. Keep stirring the pot if you are slow.

Pat Sommer
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