Liam Charles' recipe for peach melba 'freeze-cake'

In hot weather, who really wants the oven on? My friends, it’s time to take our desserts to the freezer. In this peach and raspberry cheesecake – a twist on that time-old favourite, peach melba – you have a super-simple, really tasty, crowd-pleasing pud that helps keep you (and the kitchen) cool.

Peach melba freeze-cake

Prep 30 min
Freeze 4 hr +
Serves 8-10

For the biscuit base
350g digestive biscuits
175g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling
550g cream cheese
250ml double cream
100g caster sugar
500g good-quality vanilla ice-cream
1 x 410g tin sliced peaches in juice, drained and roughly chopped

For the raspberry sauce
375g raspberries, plus extra to serve
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp water

To finish
300ml double cream, slightly whipped
1 handful fresh raspberries
1 x 410g tin sliced peaches in juice, drained

First, make the base. In a food processor, pulse the biscuits until crumbled, then stir in the melted butter.

Remove the base from a 23cm loose-based or springform tin. Line the tin with a large sheet of clingfilm, to come up the sides, before replacing the base, which will secure the clingfilm. Line the base with a circle of baking paper. Fill this with the biscuit mixture, pressing down firmly and evenly. Put in the freezer while you make the filling.

Next, make the raspberry drizzle sauce. Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan for five minutes, stirring occasionally, reduce the heat to low, simmer gently for 10 minutes, then leave to cool and thicken.

For the filling, beat the cream cheese, double cream and caster sugar until smooth. Put the soft ice-cream into the largest bowl you have and add the cream cheese mixture a bit at a time, mixing until smooth. Fold in the chopped peaches. Finally, pour in half the raspberry drizzle and make swishy patterns to marble it a bit. Pour this mixture on top of the biscuit base, and freeze for a minimum of four hours.

To assemble, remove the cheesecake from the freezer (ideally 30 minutes before serving) and lift it out of the tin, using the clingfilm hanging over the sides to help you. Top with the whipped cream, more fresh raspberries, the remaining raspberry drizzle and the tinned peach slices, and serve.