Cheesecake that is no real cheesecake

As the baking addict that I am, I constantly try to find reasons to bake something. I therefor love birthdays because they are a legitimate reason to bake. But... in my case anything can be a reason to bake. Why? Because it stops my mind from spinning, i relax while I whisk eggs, measure sugar and flour and my creativity flows when i decorate and fumble with marzipan. But... someone has to eat all that I create and my family is not always inclined to do so, so I have to restrain myself and tell myself that the sun shining is NOT a reason to bake today. :-)   

This weekend I celebrated my birthday with friends and family, so that was reason for me to go all overboard! No restraints... time to bake!!! YAY! And my husband? He watches me in the kitchen and  shakes his head. He, for the love of all that is holy, does not understand why I want to try out new recipes for this celebration. In his mind, I whip up some cupcakes that i've already made a gazillion times and that everybody loves, and be done with it in a flash. Unfortunately, this glutenfreemomma doesn't work that way. Firstly, I like a challenge, life would be so boring without a challenge, wouldn't it? 

Secondly, I hate boring and predictable. I'm not boring and predictable (I hope). So what i serve mustn't be boring either. So, something new it is. 

This time I decided to bake a cheesecake. Well, in Holland we call this thing a cheesecake, but it really isn't one. This one is made with a fresh cream cheese called MonChou & whipped double cream and you refridgerate it. It's not difficult, but I had never made one glutenfree. All I knew before I started was that I wanted to use my shortbread cookie dough as a base. Now, here's the end result:

Doesn't that look delicious?

Ingredients for the filling

For the shortbread base, please look up the ingredients in the original recipe linked in this blog! 

- 80g (about 3 oz) caster sugar
- 100g (almost 4 0z) MonChou or another fresh Cream Cheese
- 250ml (8.5 fl oz) whipped double cream
- 1 sachet of whipping  cream stiffener (is that actually a word???)
- Two cans of cherries (use fresh ones when in season!!!)

 Instructions: 

1. Line a baking tray or pie dish with baking paper.
2. Make the shortbread dough
3. Spread the mixture over the bottom of a greased pie dish or baking tray.
4. Press it until it looks firm and even and refrigerate for half an hour. 

5. Preheat the oven and bake accordingly to the shortbread cookie recipe.

6. Take the base out of the oven when golden brown and  let it cool completely.

MonChou/cream cheese-filling
When the base is suffienctly cooled down, you can finish the cream cheese-filling and top it with cherries.

1. Mix the sugar with the cream cheese.
2. Whip the cream with the whipping cream stiffener (this sounds so weird to me, but Google tells me its correct and who am I to oppose Google, right?). Add the cream cheese-mixture to it and slowly fold it in.
3. Spread the filling on the shortbread base. 
4. Now garnish with the cherries.
5. Put the cheesecake into the fridge for a couple of hours for a firm double cream and fresh cream cheese filling. You can make this pie a day in advance and it will be perfect the day after as well!

Enjoy!!!!!