No-bake cheesecake with fresh farmer's cheese and cherry topping

Combine the cream cheese, a pinch of salt, the confectioner's sugar, the heavy cream, the farmer's cheese, the vanilla paste and the lemon zest in a blender.

Start on low and blend until the texture is perfectly smooth and thickened; it does not take long.

Spread the filling into the cooled baked crust, even rather than perfectly smooth so the topping does not shift to one side.

Chill in the fridge an hour or two to set and firm up enough to slice.

Warm the thawed cherries with the granulated sugar just enough to dissolve the sugar and draw off their remaining juices, until they are almost submerged in their own liquid.

Strain the cherries over a glass measuring cup to collect the juices, pour the juices back into the sauce pan and leave the cherries to keep draining.

Stir the cornstarch with some of the lemon juice with a fork until there are no lumps; this is the slurry.

Add the rest of the lemon juice, bring the juices almost to a simmer, whisk in the slurry and whisk constantly until it boils and thickens dramatically.

Off the heat, stir it over an ice bath until thick.

Fold the drained cherries back through to coat them; their remaining juice thins the texture a little.

Pop the set cheesecake out onto a serving plate and arrange the cherry topping over it, leaving some negative space so the filling shows; about a half cup of topping was left over.