Lemon No-bake Cheesecake

A jar of lemon curd goes a long way and is a great thrifty way to add zing to a cheesecake. This recipe also doesn't require much butter, which tends to be what makes baking expensive. It's also super quick and easy and the results taste delicious. In my opinion, this makes it the perfect summer desert.

Lemon Curd Cheesecake Recipe

For the base:
200g digestive biscuits
70g butter
30g lemon curd

For the topping:
250g marscapone cheese
150g lemon curd
1 tbsp Lemon juice

1. Place the biscuits in a sandwich bag and seal to close. Bash with a rolling pin until crushed into fine crumbs
2. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan over low heat, then add the biscuits and lemon curd and stir until well combined
3. Line a round cake tin with greaseproof paper and pour the biscuit mix into the base, press down firmly with a potato masher and pop in the fridge
4. In a clean bowl, beat the marscapone, lemon curd and lemon juice until smooth
5. Remove the cake tin from the fridge and spoon the topping on, smoothing with the back of a spoon
6. Return to the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours

This is a super thrifty version, but if you wanted to make an impressive dinner party desert, you could double up the topping to make it taller!

Free McDonald's Frappe

McDonald's are offering a free frappe through their app at the moment. I decided this was a good chance to try one as I was skeptical about the concept of a frappe from a fast food restaurant!

To get a code, you just need to log onto the app and the offer will come up on the home screen. Once confirmed, it will be saved in the ‘voucher wallet’ to use in store.

They offer a choice of caramel and mocha, I opted for the latter as I was in the car and in need of some caffeine. It was a bit over sweet with the whipped cream and chocolate sauce they pile on top (and was probably therefore horrendously bad for me), but was not a bad effort, especially for free!

Click to download the app for iPhone or Android. Hurry though as codes expire on 29th August!

Home Made Houmous

Making your own houmous is a no-brainer. A tub of houmous costs at least £1 and a tin of chickpeas to make your own can cost as little as half of that. Plus it's fresh and you can flavour it however you like.

Ingredients
1 tin chickpeas
1 glug olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg

It couldn't be easier- simply drain and rinse the chickpeas, then blend with a generous glug of olive oil and seasoning until your achieve the desired consistency.

I made houmous and roast vegetable wraps with sweet potato, butternut squash and peppers:

This would make the perfect picnic lunch. Store leftover houmous in an airtight container in the fridge, where it should keep for a couple of days.

PS When I have some more time on my hands, I want to try this butternut and harissa houmous, sounds delicious!