As my regular readers should know, I have a certain penchant for the buttery biscuit based dessert that is cheesecake. These smooth and creamy treats seem to be all the rage at the moment and this is yet another to add to my growing hoard of cheesecake recipes. Despite this love, the recipe you are all soon to be reading came about due to a stupid amount of spare bananas. We had made banana bread, banana muffins and banana cookies and wanted to make something radically different – what better than a damn good cheesecake?

Cheesecakes come in all shapes and sizes, this one in particular featuring a rather light filling as it has a fairly low fat content. However, if one wants to increase the fat content and make the dessert richer one may add 2-3 tablespoons of crème fraîche or sour cream. However, I must insist that such a move would be at the peril of the risk taker, and under no circumstances should I be liable for any discomfort caused.

However, let’s not forget the other prominent component of this delicious treat, coffee. Of course, not everyone loves coffee quite as much as I do and for this reason one can add as much or as little coffee as one deems necessary. The recommended 5-6 teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons of water would give a fairly prominent coffee flavour without diminishing the fruity taste of the bananas. However, reducing the amount of coffee to perhaps 3-4 teaspoons would still enhance the colour and the richness of the dessert without adding too much flavour.

Banana and Coffee Cheesecake:

Makes 1 cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 200g crushed digestive biscuits

• 6 tbsp melted butter

• 60g granulated or caster sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 450g cream cheese or soft cheese

• 180g granulated or caster sugar

• 2 tsp lemon juice

• 3-6 tsp instant coffee, depending on taste

• 4 medium eggs

• 2 ½ bananas, mashed

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the biscuits with butter, sugar and cinnamon and press into the bottom of a greased 9 inch springform pan.

2. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, lemon and coffee. Beat in eggs one at a time then stir in the banana. Pour on top of the biscuit base and bake for an hour.

3. Cool in the oven with the door open until the cake cools to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, it will taste best the next day.

Cost: The entire cheesecake should really cost no more than £2.70, which is frugal indeed. It is also a great way to use up those bananas that would otherwise go to waste, enjoy!