Blackberry and rose cheesecake with flowers

This blackberry and rose cheesecake with flowers is a delicious summer dinner party treat your guests will love!

This is a super fresh and decadent frozen cheesecake, a bit like an ice cream cake – but a little bit better for you! It’s easy to put together and really refreshing on a hot summer’s evening – perfect for an outdoor dinner party. The crust is wonderfully chewy and nutty and the yoghurt topping is everything it should be, fruity, fragrant and creamy.

Ingredients (serves 12)

For the crust:

300g blanched almonds

50g sunflower seeds

12 fresh medjool dates, pitted

Zest of 1/2 lemon

2tbsp raw coconut oil

Hearty pinch of sea salt

For the filling:

200g blackberries

100g blueberries

Juice of 1/2 lemon

120ml raw honey

500g Greek yoghurt or thick coconut yoghurt

1tsp rosewater

For the topping:

250g blackberries

100g blueberries

Flowers to decorate, preferably purple flowers, washed

(must be unsprayed), (e.g. sweet peas, rose petals, lavender, cornflowers, violas)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Spread the almonds and sunflower seeds on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 6–8 minutes, or until they are starting to colour a little and smell nutty. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Tip the nuts into a food-processor and blitz just enough to chop them, but don’t let them become powdered.

Add the dates, lemon zest, coconut oil and a pinch of salt and blitz again until the mix comes together and you have a lovely looking sticky mixture.Scrape the mixture into a 20cm non-stick, loose-based cake tin and press it flat, but don’t squash it. Place in the fridge to chill and set.

Purée the blackberries and blueberries in the food processor along with the lemon juice and honey. Scrape the mix into a large bowl and add the yoghurt. Fold everything together until completely combined.

Spoon the topping over the chilled base and smooth it evenly using the back of a spoon. Pop it in the freezer for 3–4 hours, or overnight if possible, until almost completely frozen. The very middle is nice if it still has a bit of a wobble, but it contains no gelatin so will not hold if it’s not frozen. If you have frozen it overnight, move it to the fridge for half an hour before serving.

When you are ready to serve, simply bring the cheesecake out of the freezer (or fridge) and carefully unmould from the tin. Decorate with the extra berries and lots of petals.

Recipe courtesy of Nourish by Amber Rose, Sadie Frost and Holly Davidson priced at £19.99. Published by Kyle Books, photography by David Loftus