I'm convinced that this year's seasonal supply of Summer strawberries has been better than last year. Then again, I probably think that every year because truthfully I still carry on buying strawberries even when their season is ending because I just can't stop myself. Then the new season starts again and I'm reminded of how amazingly sweet and fragrant our Irish grown strawberries are when in season.

Whatever the case, I just can't seem to get enough of them! I've been putting them in cupcakes, chocolate bonbons, breakfast, salads and the occasional straight-out-the-fridge-and-into-mouth sneaky nibble.

And they're constantly on special offer! I'm only being responsible by buying the 2 for €5 deals, it's just the right thing to do. No really!

In all honesty, justifying my regular purchases of these delicious little bites of fruity heaven is not needed, Andrew's just as smitten with this year's bounty as I am.

Like I said, I've been putting strawberries in everything, especially as I'd hate for any of them to go to waste, and when hunting for inspiration I found a gorgeous looking recipe for a no bake cheesecake on Baking Mad.

Strawberries - Check!

White Chocolate - YES!

Combined into a creamy but fresh no-hot-oven-time-in-the-summer decadent dessert - Heck Yes!!

Actually, a quick shout-out ('cause I like to share!). If you're looking for some new baking inspiration, especially if you're in my general part of the world, have a look over at bakingmad.com. It's a great recipe site, and best of all, no need for doing conversions and figuring out substitutions. Cakes, cheesecakes, muffins and loads of savoury too, just to name a few. Yay! for grams and millilitres and "local" ingredients (no corn syrup, Dutch processed cocoa powder or Graham crackers here!)

The recipe on Baking Mad has mixed nuts in the crust so I thought I'd take advantage of the nutty inclusion in the base. I decided to sub the mixed nuts with lightly toasted pistachio nuts instead. Pistachios + White Chocolate + Sweet Strawberries = Nomnomnom! (That's a real food term, true story.)

Apart from leaving this baby in the fridge to set, it's a really quick and easy recipe. Apart from a bit of chocolate melting and pistachio toasting on the stove, I didn't even break out any electric goodies to make it. A rolling pin and Ziploc bag got the Digestive pulverised in no time for the crust, and all I needed to mix the filling was a bowl and wooden spoon.

This crust is so good, crunchy, slightly salty from the Digestives, the pistachios sweet and nutty. The cheesecake is amazingly rich and creamy, but the juicy strawberries lighten it up and make it fresh and Summery. I'm telling you, it's Nomnomnom!

White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake

Pistachio Crust Ingredients

100g Unsalted Pistachios, lightly toasted and roughly chopped

100g Digestive Biscuits, crushed

85g Unsalted butter, melted

Method

Grease a 20 cm (8") round spring form cake tin and line the base with parchment paper
Combine the chopped pistachios and fine Digestive crumbs in a bowl
Add the melted butter and mix well
Press the crust mixture onto the bottom of the springform cake tin
Chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins

Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

150ml Double Cream

250g White Chocolate

3 Gelatine leaves sheets

300g Full Fat Cream Cheese

250g Mascarpone Cheese

300g Fresh Strawberries, washed

Method

Place the gelatine in a bowl of cold water and leave to soften for about 5 mins
Place the cream and chocolate into a small pan and melt over very low heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate has melted
Remove the gelatine from the water, gently squeeze the water out and add to the cream and white chocolate
Stir until dissolved
Whisk the cream cheese and mascarpone until smooth, then whisk in the chocolate and mix until smooth
Roughly chop 200g of the strawberries and fold into the cream cheese mixture
Pour into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top
Leave to set for at least 4 hours or overnight

Once set, run a knife around the cheesecake, then remove the sides and base of the tin and place on a serving plate
Top with strawberries (mine were dipped in white chocolate) and chopped toasted pistachios

Recipe adapted from bakingmad.com

Keep cheesecake refrigerated and serve chilled

You can use 1.5 tsp of gelatine powder instead of leaves. Sprinkle gelatine powder over some cold water and leave to bloom. Pour through a small sieve and discard the water. Add the gelatine to the warm cream and white chocolate mixture and follow the directions from there.

For neat slices, heat a sharp knife in a glass of hot water, dry the blade off and slice, warming and cleaning your knife after every cut

Keeps for about 2 days in the fridge