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Summer cheesecake and a fish feast fit for Hollywood’s finest
Clare Latimer remembers an old family friend, the actor Jack Hawkins, and revisits a very special cheesecake recipe he brought back from America
IT was 34 years ago this week that the well-known film star Jack Hawkins died. He was one of the kindest men I ever knew and was so sweet to me as a child.
Poor man, he once showed such great enthusiasm to my pet stick insects that I gave him some... disaster struck.
They bred and hatched out all over his home and millions of babies got into the beautiful curtains, towels and carpets.
They already had a Griffin dog and a Belgium hare, so enough was enough! The family still remind me when they see me.
He was a great lover of food. When he went to America in the 1960s to make a film, he brought back the most wonderful recipe for cheesecake that I have ever tasted.
We often serve it in the shop and his name always brings back fond memories to our more mature clientele, along with discussions of films like The Cruel Sea and Lawrence of Arabia and many more get an airing.
One of his greatest loves, apart from his wife and children, was fish. Fish and chips were top of the menu but he also loved skate beurre noir so he has instigated my dishes this week.
As my dad always said, “God Bless Jack”.
We will be serving his cheesecake in our shop for the week so come and try the original if you wish.
Jack Hawkins cheesecake
I have added the chocolate, lime and raspberries just to add to the splendour so you too could work with the basis and add your own touch.
Ingredients
Serves 8
1 x 200g packet ginger biscuits
125g butter
Grated rind lime
75g dark block chocolate
250g cream cheese
200g caster sugar
½ teasp vanilla essence
Juice of 1 lime
2 eggs
For the topping
300ml soured cream
½ teasp vanilla essence
1 desp caster sugar
1 punnet raspberries.
Method
Crush the biscuits by putting them in a plastic bag and stabbing them with the end of a rolling- pin, or breaking them up and putting then in a blender.
Melt the butter and then mix in the crumbs. Line the base of a shallow 20cm cake tin, pressing down evenly and firmly. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan with a dessertspoon of water over a low heat.
Pour over the biscuit base, spread all over the surface. Chill in the fridge.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla essence and lime juice until smooth, then add the eggs and beat well. Pour onto the biscuit base, and then put in a cold oven set to 180C 350F Gas 4.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the mixture is just set but not brown. Mix the soured cream, vanilla essence and sugar together in a bowl, then spoon and smooth over the top of the hot pie.
Arrange the raspberries over the top, sticking them into the soured- cream topping. Put in the oven for three minutes, then remove and chill.
Cut the slices directly from the baking tin and arrange on a serving dish.
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