1.       To start with, grease and line the bottom of an 8-inch springform cake tin. Then remove the pits and stalks from all the cherries (this is the most tedious bit of the recipe, I promise its much easier from here!)

2.       Then make your poaching liquor: add the sugar, lemon zest, red wine and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it continue to boil for 8 minutes, then reduce the heat and add the cherries.

3.       Let the cherries simmer in the liquor for 4 minutes, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. Let the liquor continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes.

4.       Remove a couple of tablespoons of poaching liquor into a small bowl and mix in the cornflour. Once it’s a smooth paste you can add it back into the saucepan. Let the liquor simmer for a few minutes more, stirring as it starts to thicken. The final product should be the consistency of runny honey. Pour the sauce into a jug and, once it has cooled pop it in the fridge. The cherries can also go in the fridge at this stage, until you are ready to use them.

5.       Make a make a start on your biscuit base. Crush the biscuits in a bowl using the end of a rolling pin (you can use a food processor if you want, but I think it makes too fine a crumb). Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave and mix it into the crushed biscuits along with a tiny pinch of salt. Mix it all together and then press the biscuit and butter mix into the tin, making sure its flat and roughly evenly spread.  

6.       Mix together the marscapone, icing sugar, cardamom, vanilla extract and lemon juice until smooth.

7.       In another bowl, lightly whip the cream until thickened but not too stiff. Room temperature cream should come together quite quickly so you won’t need to whisk for long (its another story if you try to hand whip it straight from the fridge…)

8.       Add the whipped cream into the marscapone mixture. Do this in thirds, using first third of the cream to loosen the marscapone mixture then, folding more gently with the remaining cream. This will retain some of the air and make the final cheesecake mixture silky smooth.

9.       Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the tin, to cover the biscuit base. Using and offset spatula, or pallet knife, smooth the mixture over so its nicely flat and even. Put in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.

10.   Take the cheesecake, cherries and sauce out of the fridge. Arrange the cherries on top of the marscapone mixture and then pour the sauce on top. Put back in the fridge to chill overnight or, at a minimum, 3 hours. When you are ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the inside edge of the tin, before taking it out and putting it onto a serving plate. Its no big deal if the sauce drips over the edge a little – it all adds to the overall effect.