Specialising in no-bake cheesecake, Pleesecakes was launched by Joe Moruzzi, a former painter-decorator. Having previously made cheesecakes for friends and family events, the business was launched via Instagram at the start of 2017. Today, Pleesecakes is the UK’s leading custom, no-bake cheesecake company. In addition to numerous television appearances, Pleesecakes was featured on BBC Two’s Dragon’s Den, with legions of fans (including many celebrities) and a cult following. Joe Moruzzi has also released a recipe book, Pleesecakes: 60 AWESOME No-Bake Cheesecake Recipes, and has made his unique creations available for local delivery via Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat, as well as being available for nationwide delivery from the online shop.
Pleesecakes’ cheesecake creations include the likes of Eton Mess, topped with strawberry compote, glazed fresh strawberries, meringue, and homemade white chocolate shards; Pick ‘N’ Mix, loaded with sweet shop favourites; and even a savoury cheeseburger cheesecake, filled with onions, mince, bacon, pickles, cheese, and bbq sauce, then topped with eight homemade mini burgers and caramelised onion chutney.
The Pleesecakes Strawberry Edge Ledge, on the other hand, is a no-bake strawberry cheesecake, based with digestive biscuits, edged with fresh strawberries, then topped with mixed berry compote, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
Whizz the digestive biscuits to a fine crumb in a food processor (stick them in a sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin if you haven’t got a processor). Add the melted butter and give it a good stir to make sure that all the biscuit is nicely coated. Pour into the cake tin (pan) and press down gently and evenly to make your base. Level off around the edge with the back of a spoon and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese and 100g sugar together. Blitz the strawberries in a food processor with the remaining sugar to a purée. Then, add the strawberry purée to the cream cheese and mix together thoroughly. Whip the cream until you have stiff peaks and fold it gently into the mix. Put to one side.
For the strawberry edge, cut the green ends off the strawberries and slice in half lengthways. Grab the cake tin and stick the strawberries around the edge (with the flat inside edge of the strawberry facing outwards). Spoon in the cheese mixture, starting gently around the edge with small spoonfuls, making sure you don’t dislodge the strawberries, and working your way into the middle. Level off with a palette knife and then run your forefinger and thumb around the rim of the tin to create a professional finish. Tap the tin gently on a hard surface to remove any air bubbles. Stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours to set.
Once set, remove from the freezer and take it out of the cake tin. Top first with the mixed berry compote, then the fresh fruit. Serve straight away.
Jonathan is Food Editor for The London Economic. Jonathan has run and contributed towards a number of blogs, and has written features for publications such as Eater London, The Guardian, i News, The Independent, GQ, Time Out London and more.
