Transgression is all about breaking the rules. But isn’t that exactly what rules are for – to be broken? In my opinion, one set of rules which are broken all too often are those relating to food. Diets are broken every minute of every day as we all fall to gluttony. But is there anything necessarily wrong with that? Quite the contrary, I believe. The fact that we are guiltily succumbing to our temptations means that we really, really want the food we’re about to eat. In that sense, we enjoy it even more.

However, breaking rules is not only relevant to the dietary nature of food. Every good cook – especially mums and grandmas – have a bible of cheats that they use. Knowing how to bend the rules of tradition to create the same result minus the hassle is a great skill and of particular use to the university student, lost for time, energy and perhaps expertise.

With this in mind, I thought I’d share with you one of my cheeky desserts. Perfect for the spring considering its citrus element, this recipe is incredibly simple, cheap and tasty. It mightn’t be the best for your diet but it’s well worth it!

Lime Cheesecake Pudding
Time: 10 minutes plus overnight chilling
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Cost: Low

Ingredients

2 cans sweetened condensed milk
600mL heavy cream
½ cup lime juice – preferably fresh but the bottled juice works well too
300g Ritz crackers or the equivalent
1 tablespoon lime zest to garnish

Method

1. Combine the condensed milk and cream in a large bowl.
2. Add the lime juice and whisk until the mixture is thickened. This will take around a minute.
3. Spread 1 cup of the mixture onto the base of a pie or casserole dish.
4. Cover this with a layer of the crackers.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of the mixture.
6. Garnish with a sprinkle of the lime zest.
7. Cover loosely with cling film and set in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours but preferably overnight.