Passion Fruit Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the crust:
120 grams shortcake biscuits
40 grams butter

For the filling:
600 grams cream cheese
200 grams passion fruit
6 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
zest of 1 unwaxed orange
juice of 1/2 lemon

For the glaze
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cupfreshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Method

Blend the butter and shortcake biscuits and packed down into the greased baking ring or spring-form pan.

Cut open the passion fruits, and scoop out the insides into a bowl. Mix with the rest of the filling ingredients.Pour the filling into the crust, and put into the oven. After about 10 minutes, cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, to keep it from browning. Let bake for about an hour. Then, turn off the oven, and let the cake cool down in the oven for at least an hour with the door slightly ajar, to stop it from cracking.

Once the cake is at room temperature remove it from the oven and leave to cool completely. Then chill. To make the glaze reduce the orange juice and the sugar in a saucepan, until thick and glossy. Spoon over slices of cake before serving.

Perfect Holiday Black Forest Cheesecake

Black Forest Cheesecake
Originally uploaded by quoo

In the seventies a Black Forest gateaux was the height of sophistication, served with an avocado prawn cocktail. As naff as that is today the combination of rich dark chocoalte and cherries is still a marriage made in heaven. This black forest cheesecake combines those wonderful flavours with cinnamom.However I use almond essence rather than the cinnamom as almond essence complements cherries more than cinnamom.



Black Forest Cheesecake
For the biscuit base
220g chocolate digestive biscuits
110g unsalted Butter, melted
1 teaspoon Cinnamon


For the filling
3 sheets gelatine
150ml single cream
300g cream cheese
125g caster sugar
1 Lemon, grated zest and juice
300g Cherries, fresh or canned, pitted
150ml double cream, whipped
1 egg white


For the sauce
250g Cherries, fresh or canned, pitted
1/2 Lemons, juice only
Sugar, to taste

Method

Finely crush the biscuits, and stir in the melted butter and cinnamon. Press the buttery crumbs evenly over the base of a 24cm loose-bottomed flan or tart tin. Refrigerate until set.

To make the filling, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. Bring the cream to a boil, and then take off the heat. Remove the gelatine leaves from the water, squeeze out any excess water, and stir into the cream, until dissolved. Leave the mixture to cool.

Put the cream cheese into a bowl with the sugar, half the lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat together until smooth and creamy. Mix in the single cream mixture and then the cherries. Fold in the whipped cream. Whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks, and fold into the cheesecake mixture.

Pour the mixture into the tart tin and smooth down lightly. Chill until set, before sprinkling with the remaining lemon zest. For the sauce, place the cherries, lemon juice and sugar to taste, into a food processor or liquidiser and pulse until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Serve with the cheesecake.

Ricotta and Rhubarb cheesecake

6 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese, room temperature
1/2 pond mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1/3-cup all-purpose flour
6 eggs
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1-tablespoon vanilla extract

Orange Scented Rhubarb Compôte

5 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1/4” pieces (about 3 cups)
1 cup sugar
zest and juice of 2 oranges


Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients
Cream togewther the butter and 1/2-cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt. Mix these until well combined. Press the mixture on the bottom and up the sides of a 10” x 3” springform pan. Place the pan in the oven, and bake until lightly golden, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack completely before proceeding.

Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the ricotta and mascarpone in a large mixing bowl. Stir them until as smooth as possible with a rubber spatula. Stir the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar and the 1/3-cup flour into the ricotta. Stir until well incorporated. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange and lemon zest, and salt. Sir until just combined. Do not over mix.Pour batter into the prepared cornmeal shell. Place in oven on center rack.

Bake for about 70 minutes, until a light golden color. Make sure the centre is fairly firm, and the point of a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
At this point turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to sit in there another hour to hour and a half. This will help it from cracking. Still some cracking is inevitable and, again, part of the rustic appeal.After that, remove the cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Then cover the pan and move it to the refrigerator at least 2 hours but overnight is better.
To make the rhubarb and orange compote
Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan set over medium heat-low heat. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.When the rhubarb is tender, about 10 minutes, break the pieces up some with the back of a wooden spoon.
Continue to cook until the mixture thickens. Then remove from heat and let it cool completely.

You may serve the compote in a bowl next to the cheesecake or spooned over the top. But do not spoon the fruit on top until immediately before serving, because it goes soggy.

Mome Made Turkish Delight Cheesecake

In my cheesecake I used cochineal a natural red food colouring made from beetles, which is not everyone's food colouring of choice, but the other types of red food colouring are just chemicals, and I would leave them out. The Turkish delight is home made but it is an old fashoined method that leaves out the gelatine as I am a vegetarian.

40 rose flavoured Pieces of Turkish delight

2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups water
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup cornflour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon rose water essence
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/8 cup extra cornflour

Boil the sugar with the lime juice and 3/4 cups of water. Use a sugar thermometer and remove from the heat when the syrup reaches the soft ball stage (115C).

While you are boiling the sugar syrup, combine the cream of tartar and a cup of cornflour with one and a half cups of cold water. Mix well and bring up to a simmer, stirring all the time. Continue stirring at a simmer until the mixture has made a thick, glutinous paste. Stir the sugar syrup into this paste.If you have any lumps don't proceed until you have sieved them out.

Simmer the sugar and cornflour mixture, until it's a golden-honey colour and about 120C this is halfway between soft and hard ball stage and will take an hour, but stir the turksh delight every few minutes.

Divide the mixture into two, and pour it into two prepared trays lined with oiled cling film. Add a tablespoon of rose water and leave to set. When it is set cut into cubes and roill in icing sugar and cornflour to stop it sticking together.

Turkish delight cheesecake
Ingredients
Base
200 g dark chocolate biscuits
120g butter, melted
20 g sugar

Cheesecake
680g cream cheese
210 g sugar
3 large organic eggs
8 oz sour cream
4 tbsp rose water
200g rose Turkish delight
4 drops of cochineal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Method

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the cake tin. Cover the cake tin welkl with tin foil. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully mixing in each one before adding the next. Add the sour cream and rose water until smooth, and add the red food colouring.Chop the turkish delight and place half over the crust base.Spoon the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust and top with the remaining turkish delight.Place in a water bath.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until it is almost set. Turn the oven off, and let it stand for an hour. Chillin the refrigerator until ready to serve.

A White Chocolate and Orange Cheesecake

Please try using a good quality white chocolate which means that it has cocoa butter in it, not some other vegetable oil. There is a big difference in the way chocolate behaves and it mostly depends on the oil used in it. Chocolate with cocoa butter will melt just the right way and Lindt is ideal.

The ingredients,
180 grams cookies
50 grams butter
100 grams white chocolate
the zest and juice of one un waxed orange
200 grams cream cheese
3/4 cup whipping cream
4 gelatine leaves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method
Line a springform pan with baking paper. Crush the cookies and mix them with the melted butter. Place them evenly on the bottom of the springform pan. Leave the pan into the fridge while you make the filling.

Place the gelatine leaves into some cold water. Melt the white chocolate. Whip the cream and mix it with the white chocolate and the cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract and the orange zest.Place the orange juice into a saucepan on medium heat and melt the gelatine leaves into it. Let it cool a bit.ix the orange juice after it has cooled with the whipped cream mixture. Pour it into the springform pan and leave to sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Take a springform pan and line the bottom with some baking paper.Melt the butter and mix with the crushed cookies. Then place them into the springform pan evenly. Place the cake base into the fridge while you start with the filling.

Take the gelatine leaves and place them into some cold water. Leave them for a while.
Grate the orange and squeeze the juice from it.Whip the cream and add the vanilla extract to it. Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie, or in a microwave oven. Add the cream cheese to the whipped cream and then add the white chocolate. Mix them all together before adding the orange zest.

Place the orange juice into a small saucepan on medium heat. Take the gelatine leaves and squeeze them dry.Add the leaves to the juice and let them melt together.Take the juice and let it cool before mixing it with the whipped cream mixture.
Pour the mixture into the springform pan and let it rest in the fridge for at least three hours, or more.

Baked lemon mascarpone cheesecake

INGREDIENTS
225g/8oz digestive biscuits
100g/4oz butter, melted
250g tub mascarpone
600g/1lb 5oz soft cheese
2 eggs, plus 2 yolks
Zest of three lemons, juice of one
4 tbsp plain flour
175g/6oz caster sugar
FOR THE TOPPING
Half 284ml pot soured cream
3 Tablespoons lemon curd Handful raspberries, to serve

Heat oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 4.

Method
Line the bottom of a 23cm springform tin with greaseproof paper. Tip the biscuits and melted butter into a food processor, then blitz to make fine crumbs. Press into the tin and chill.

Whisk all the other ingredients in a large bowl until completely combined, pour into the tin, then bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cheesecake has a uniform wobble. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside until cool. When it is completely cooled, remove from the tin and top with soured cream. Swirl lemon curd over the top, then decorate with raspberries.

Easter Chocolate and Lime Cheesecake

Lime and chocolate is a rich decadent combination of flavours. This chocolate and lime cheesecake is simplicity itself and a perfect Easter dessert.

Ingredients

400g (14oz) Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tin (397g) condensed milk

4 limes

100g (3.5oz) dark Lindt chocolate

200g (7oz) ginger biscuits

75g (2.5oz) butter

Method

Grease a large flan dish, crush the biscuits until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in a pan, then pour over the biscuit crumbs, mix together. Line the flan dish with the biscuit mix, pressing down firmly covering the base, then put in fridge to chill. Grate finely the rind of the 3 limes, then juice the 3 limes leaving the fourth for decoration. Place the Philadelphia and Condensed milk into a mixing bowl and mix together adding the juice and rind of the 3 limes slowly until it resembles a glue like mix. Pour over the biscuit base, smoothing over the top and refrigerate until set. Melt the chocolate, then drizzle over the cheesecake adding slices of lime for decoration. Or flake the chocolate into curls and decorate the cheesecake