When I was asked to come up with a dish inspired by the Cricket World Cup, I had my choice of countries from Australia to South Africa, India to the West Indies - but to me cricket is synonymous with England.

Cricket is a very English sport, first being played in the south of England in the 16th Century and by the end of the 18th Century it was the national sport of England. With the expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century the love of cricket spread overseas.

Although cheesecake has been around since ancient Greece, the earliest cheesecake recipe was found in an English cookbook from 1390. On this basis, chef Heston Blumenthal has argued that cheesecake is an English invention. So the dish I am making inspired by the Cricket World Cup is a classic English Strawberry Cheesecake.

I have been picked to be a Morrisons mum. A short drive to my local store in Baglan, I wasn't sure what to expect. I have to admit I thought it would be a 'bargain basement' type supermarket but I was pleasantly surprised.

I was actually impressed with the display of the fruit and veg. It looked fresh and was displayed effectively, so much better than my local supermarket. Not one bruised apple or mouldy carrot to be seen. The herbs had cold air being sprayed over them, how cool was that (in more ways than one). I guess it's a sure fire way of keeping the herbs fresh and in peak condition.

Morrisons have been working hard to lower the prices on a number of items. I was impressed to find 3 assorted peppers for 99 pence and 6 white bread rolls for 32 pence. They weren't in 'value' packaging either. I don't know about you but I want to get the best produce for my money but sometimes if the packaging screams out 'cheap!" It puts me off.  Although they have been cutting prices they still have the carefully trained butchers and bakers in store too, they are certainly not cutting corners, that's for sure.

Morrisons have actually cut the prices of 1200 of their products by on average 17 per cent - they are serious about bringing in new customers and keeping them.

So I was give £80 to do my usual shop and plan a bank holiday meal. Did my basket cost me more or less than my usual shop? I do actually think that it cost me less. My local supermarket isn't particularly cheap although they have special offers and I always take notice of these. For example in my local supermarket 3 assorted peppers there cost £2 and the cheapest bread rolls 60 pence, comparing these prices to 99 pence and 32 pence you can see the saving really do add up. I would certainly go again and it's a bit of a shame that there isn't a Morrisons closer to me.




My planning for my bank holiday meal was based around a friends and family get together. I would have loved to have had a barbecue but I live in a flat, so I decide to do a pub quiz and decided to cook comfort food such as Quorn lasagne, chicken and bacon pie and a marbled chocolate cheesecake, add to this salad and chips and I think I was onto a winner.

The cheesecake I made is based on a recipe from Mary Berry. The intense chocolate flavour, complimented the smooth vanilla cheesecake, and the chocolate digestive crunch was spot on. Served with raspberries and vanilla cream it was scrumptious! Making a luxurious dessert like this baked cheesecake is well worth the effort and with ingredients like Morrisons butter for 99p surprising cost effective too. 

Morrisons, Mel's and Mary's Marbled Chocolate Cheesecake




Serves 10

Cost per serving 72 pence

Ingredients
- 150g plain chocolate digestive biscuits, crushed
- 75g butter, melted
- 150g plain chocolate
- 700g full fat soft cheese
- 225g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 medium eggs, beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degree C.
Grease a loose bottom or an 8 inch spring form cake tin lightly.
Mix together the melted butter and the crushed chocolate digestives and press into the bottom of the cake tin.
Beat the soft cheese in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth.
Add caster sugar and vanilla essence and beat until nice and glossy.
Slowly add beaten egg until it is all incorporated.
Melt the chocolate in another bowl and cool slightly. You can do  this in a bowl over a pan of hot water or in the microwave for a minute or two.
Put half of the cheesecake mixture in a bowl and add the chocolate slowly. Stir until combined.
Then spoon the vanilla cheesecake mixture onto of the biscuit base, making sure you separate the spoonfuls.
Spoon the chocolate cheesecake mixture into the gaps.
Swirl the top to give a marbled effect.
Bake the cheesecake for 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat but let it cool in the oven.
Once cooled put in the fridge overnight.
Eat and enjoy with berries, whipped double cream or vanilla ice cream.

If you think my cheesecake looks delicious, and you try it out, please let me know how you get on.

Do you shop at Morrisons? What do you think of their new everyday lower prices? If you don't already shop there, would you in future?

* I was given vouchers for an honest review