What to Bake When You Don't Feel Like Baking

a sweet & salty cheesecake and low effort recipes to make when you just don't have the energy

When your literal job is to create and develop recipes all day, it’s unsurprising that there are times when I’m simply not in the mood to spend even a minute more in the kitchen. As much as I love what I do, there are situations where dessert is needed, I still want to make something, but the thought of creaming butter and sugar, lining cake tins or rolling out pastry is the last thing I want to do.

Or even if cooking all day isn’t your 9-5, maybe you’ve just had a long week and have friends coming over. You want to serve something sweet and fairly low effort with minimal hands on time. What do you typically turn to in these moments? A no bake cheesecake sits high up on my list, for a few reasons. It’s very much a crowd pleaser and typically requires just a little bit of mixing and the rest of the time in the fridge.

The version I’m sharing today is from my cookbook, I’ll Bring Dessert, and pushes the relaxed vibe even further. Avoiding a cake tin altogether, it’s assembled in a baking dish and gets scooped to serve. Heavily inspired by the white chocolate cheesecake at Blacklock in London where large trays with a roughly crumbled biscuit base are served table side, generously dolloped into your bowl after a Sunday roast.

My sweet and salty rendition uses Ritz crackers, a criminally underrated snack - on the base, and the filling is sweetened with condensed milk and topped with flaky sea salt. As we’re not looking for perfect slices, it doesn’t need a long chilling time allowing you to get stuck into this, straight from the dish, relatively quickly.

If that’s still feels like it requires a bit more energy than you’ve got, then my second option tends to be some sort of fruit dish. As a child the thought of fruit being served for dessert genuinely made me sad inside. It felt like a cop out; where’s the sugar! the butter! the chocolate! the fun! These days, I can get on board with it, especially in summer where the abundance of berries, mangoes and stone fruit taste SO good.

A little maceration goes a long way. Pick up some juicy strawberries, let them sit in a little bit of sugar and vanilla until they get all glossy and syrupy. You could either serve them with a pour of cold cream or do what I’ve done and add a dollop of lightly whipped elderflower cream. Serve with some shop bought or homemade shortbread biscuits on the side and you’ve got a dreamy, fruity dessert in 15 minutes.

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If you need a little more inspiration, here are some other quick options from my cookbooks:

• Everyday Cake in A Good Day to bake. It’s a one bowl cake that’s dense and moist and works perfectly for a simple cake that doesn’t need to be served with anything else.

• Spiced Pineapple Tart in I’ll Bring Dessert. This tart makes the most of shop bought puff pastry, store cupboard spices and tinned fruit.

• Hot Fudge Peanut Butter Sauce in I’ll Bring Dessert. If in doubt, just buy some good ice cream and jazz it up with a quick, rich, nutty chocolate sauce.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Elliott's Studio in Edinburgh, Fortnum's Food & Drink Studio

KITCHENAID X FORTNUM’S AFTERNOON TEA

KitchenAid are taking over the Food Studio on the 3rd floor over at Fortnum and Mason’s on the 28th June. I’ll be there in the afternoon hosting a little afternoon tea demo! Come and join as we make some cheesy scones with whipped herb butter and my cherry & almond Victoria sponge before sitting down to chat and eat everything we’ve made. Served with lots of Fortnum’s tea of course! Spaces are limited so book your ticket here

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

Very excited to share that I’ll be in Edinburgh (for the first time!) this summer at the book festival. As part of the programme, I’ll be popping up at the gorgeous Elliott’s Studio with food writer and author, Jess Dennison. There’ll be a whole bunch of sweet treats and bakes from I’ll Bring Dessert, plenty of fizz and conversation about my work and all things baking.

Come and join us! Tickets can be purchased here.

Also would love any recs of what to do and where to eat in Edinburgh so please send!

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SWEET AND SALTY CHEESECAKE

Don’t worry about crushing the biscuits super fine like you normally would. The uneven chunkiness makes it more texturally pleasing to eat.

RECIPE

serves 8

260g Ritz Crackers
135g unsalted buter, melted
390g cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g sour cream (or plain yoghurt)
340ml condensed milk, plus extra to drizzle
300ml double cream
flaky sea salt

METHOD

1. Add the Ritz crackers to a bowl and bash them up with a rolling pin until roughly crushed. You want a mix of smaller and larger pieces. Stir in the melted butter until well coated.

2. Tip the mixture into a baking dish and lightly press it down. Chill in the fridge whilst you make the filling.

3. Add the cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla to a bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in the condensed milk.

4. In a separate bowl, lightly whip the double cream until it has soft peaks. Fold it into the cream cheese mixture and then spoon it onto the Ritz cracker base.

5. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

6. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle on some extra condensed milk and a bit of flaky sea salt. Scoop to serve.

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STRAWBERRIES & ELDERFLOWER CREAM

RECIPE

serves 4

350g strawberries
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
300ml double cream
1/2 tbsp elderflower cordial
shortbread to serve

METHOD

1. Wash and hull the strawberries and then cut them in half. For larger strawberries, you can cut them into quarters

2. Add them to a bowl with the sugar and vanilla and mix to coat. Let the strawberries sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes until they look glossy and syrupy.

3. Add the cream and elderflower cordial to a bowl and whip lightly until it just thickens.

4. Spoon the strawberries and some the juices into a glass or bowl, top with some cream and serve with shortbread.