Rhubarb is such a versatile ingredient (technically a vegetable but often referred to as a fruit because it is largely used in sweet dishes) and will remain in season at the time of the show. This cheesecake is delightful! This is a suggested recipe only, feel free to use your own!
Ingredients
- 500g Young Rhubarb (pick it young or buy young fruits), chopped into 4cm lengths
- 150g Caster Sugar
- 1 Blood Orange, zested and juiced
- 1 Vanilla Pod
- 100g Butter, melted plus extra for the tin
- 200g Gingernut Biscuits
- 500 Mascarpone Cheese
- 100g Thick Natural Yoghurt
- 1 tbsp Pistachios, chopped
Preparation Method
- Preheat the oven to 200oC/180oC fan/gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and fill with the rhubarb. Sprinkle over the sugar and the orange zest and pour over the juice. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod over the rhubarb and drop the vanilla pod on top. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and purée about a third of the rhubarb, reserve the rest for the top.
- Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line it with baking parchment. Put the biscuits in a bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they are crumbs. Tip into a mixing bowl and stir with a pinch of salt. Pour the butter over the crumbs and mix it together with a fork. Tip the buttery crumbs into the cake tin. Give it a good tap to even out the layer of crumbs then compress it with the back of a spoon to ensure it is packed and level. Put it in the fridge to chill.
- Put the mascarpone cheese and the yoghurt into a mixing bowl and beat it together (you can use a mixer for this if you prefer). Once it is combined, fold through the rhubarb purée.
- Pile the mixture on top of the biscuit base and smooth it down. Cover the tin with clingfilm (there are alternatives like Lakeland’s compostable perforated clingfilm or Essential Waitrose non-pvc clingfilm if you are sticking to the zero waste concept!) and chill overnight to set. Remove the rhubarb from its syrup with a slotted spoon and put the syrup in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce for 3 to 5 minutes until it is more concentrated. Allow to cool.
- Carefully remove the cheesecake from its tin. Pile the rhubarb on top and pour over some syrup. Scatter the pistachios over the top and it’s ready to serve.