Ingredients 
325g Lotus Biscoff/Speculoos cookies 
100g butter 
Pinch of salt 
550g full fat Philadelphia cream cheese – MUST be full fat and needs to be room temperature 
120g icing sugar, sifted 
2 fresh lemons, juice of both and zest of 1  
300ml double cream
4 tbsp lemon curd 
If making a G&T cheesecake – optional 
Gin 150ml 
Tonic 100ml 
2 tbsp caster sugar

Equipment Needed
20cm spring form cake tin (if you don’t have spring formed then just line a cake tin with greaseproof paper, cling film or foil and make sure it overhangs to make removing it easier. 

Method
If you are making the gin and tonic version put 100ml of the gin, all of the tonic and the caster sugar into a small pan and reduce on a medium temp for around 5 minutes or until reduced by roughly half. 

Melt the butter and crush the biscuits into fairly fine breadcrumb, ideally in a food processor but if you do not have a food processor then put the biscuits into a bag and carefully bash with a rolling pin or bottle until fine crumbs are formed.  Add the crumbs, a pinch of salt and the melted butter into a bowl and mix together.  Your crumbs should look like they are dark and sticking together but not wet.  Your crumbs should be able to be pushed together so if they look a little dry then just add another 10g of melted butter.  Push The biscuit base over the bottom of your tin and make sure it is evenly spread and smooth.  Put into into the fridge while you finish the topping. 

Put the Philadelphia into a bowl and gently whip with a whisk until it is smooth - this will take seconds.  Add the icing sugar and mix again. Again this will take seconds for it to be incorporated. Add 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and all of the zest and mix again.  The lemon juice will notably thicken the mixture.  If you don’t like the texture of the lemon zest then don’t add. 

Add the cream, mix together until smooth and then add the rest of the lemon juice (and if you are using gin then add the remaining 50ml of gin and stir). Again you will notice the lemon juice will thicken the mixture. 

Add 2 tbsp of the lemon curd and swirl through the mixture and taste.  If you want your cheesecake to have a stronger lemon taste then just add some more lemon curd until you are happy.  The lemon curd doesn’t; have to be completely incorporated, I quite like a swirl effect.  Pour the mixture on top of the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge for 2-4 hours. 

To finish the gin and tonic version, mix 1-2 tbsps of lemon curd in to the G&T syrup and drizzle over the top before you put it in the fridge to set.