Irish Coffee Cheese Cake Pie from Ballyknocken Cookery School

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, we wanted to share our good friend Catherine Fulvio’s Irish Coffee Cheese Cake Pie from Ballyknocken Cookery School in County Wicklow.

Makes 1 x 9” cake

Best to make this ahead of time so the great flavours develop. This has a biscuit base but it is baked and truly scrumptious.

For the base

• 300g digestive biscuits (Graham Cracker in the US)

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• 150g butter, melted

For the filling

300g soft cream cheese

100g crème fraiche

50g soft dark brown sugar

3 eggs

1 shot espresso (30ml)

2 tbsp whiskey

Preheat the oven to 340f. To make the base, brush a 9” loose base tart tin with melted butter.

Place the biscuits in a food processor and crush until fine crumbs form.

Transfer the biscuit crumbs to a bowl, add the ginger then pour over the melted butter and mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated.

Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base and up the sides. Set in the fridge for 20 minutes.

To make the filling, mix the cream cheese, crème fraiche, dark brown sugar, eggs, espresso and whiskey together in a large jug.

Pour the mixture into the biscuit base and smooth evenly. Place in the oven to bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until just set.

Carefully remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before removing from the tin. Serve with a good coffee.

Tip: Still staying Irish – change the whiskey to 4 tbsp of Irish cream for a really delicious pie.

To learn more about Catherine and Ballyknocken go to their site at www.ballyknocken.ie