FEAST YOUR EYES

Round off your spring meals with these colourful and delicious desserts

-  ALI GRAVES

Pistachio cheesecake

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

175g unsalted butter, melted plus extra for greasing 300g M&S pistachio and almond cookies 200g shelled pistachios 200g M&S Fairtrade golden caster sugar 750g soft cheese 150ml double cream 1 tsp vanilla bean paste Toasted flaked almonds

METHOD

Lightly grease the sides and line the bottom of a 23cm loose-bottomed tin. Blitz the cookies in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Combine with the melted butter.

Press the mix into the tin using the back of a wooden spoon to flatten, then put in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, blitz 1½ packs of the pistachios with the sugar in the same food processor that you used to blitz the cookies (you don't have to clean the bowl). You want the mix to be quite fine but be careful that it doesn't turn into a paste.

Once the base is chilled, make the topping. Mix the soft cheese with the double cream using an electric hand whisk until smooth.

Add in the pistachio sugar and vanilla bean paste and whisk again until combined.

Spread over the chilled base using a spatula and chill for at least 4 hours.