Strawberry cheesecake

This recipe is straight out of the Weekend Australian. David Herbert rides again. First I was hooked on his fantastic fried artichokes; now he tempts me with the perfect cake of the season. A no-cook cheesecake featuring the cheap-as-anything strawberries that are around at the moment. Seize the day! Seize the strawberry!

I made this for a work birthday: I made it the night before but put the strawberries on in the morning. I also painted the berries with some melted jam, but this was not so good. Next time I'll leave it plain.

No-Cook Strawberry Cheesecake (serves 8 to 10)

• 250g amaretti biscuits (I used half crushed butternut snaps, and half almond biscotti with some drops of almond essence)
• 100g melted butter
• 600g cream cheese at room temperature (I used two thirds Light Philly and one third real Philly)
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300ml thick cream (the "dollop" kind)
• 400g strawberries, hulled and halved
• 2 tbsps icing sugar
• Juice of half a lemon

Grease a 23cm spring form tin and line base with baking paper. (I used a 26cm tin and it was fine.) Crush biscuits in food processor, add butter and pulse till it comes together. Use fingertips to press crumb mixture firmly into base of tin. Chill for at least an hour or until set. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla with electric beater till smooth. Add cream, beat till combined. Spoon into tin, smooth the top. Refrigerate overnight.
Puree half the strawbs in the processor with the 2 tbsps icing sugar and the lemon juice. Arrange remaining strawberries on cake and serve with puree on the side.