Rose-tinted Recipes : Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake

Ok people , I just absolutely have to share this with you.  It is my latest fave recipe so I’ve literally only just finished writing it into my little brown book. However, it is one of the, if not the, most delicious and moorish cheesecakes I have ever made.  Hubby, who is not a big rhubarb fan, just couldn’t get enough of it and requested that in future I only make it on special occasions or he’ll be the size of a small house in no time!

Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake

This recipe is made in 3 sections but you can cheat with section 1 and buy a pack of sweet short crust pastry.  I like to make my own as it only takes a few minutes to do and with a blender is so easy-peasy.

Step 1 : Sweet short crust pastry:

Ingredients:

8oz plain flour

4 oz salted Welsh butter (most recipes suggest unsalted butter but personally i like the sweet/salty combo)

up to  tblsp cold water

Method:

pop the flour and butter in the blender and whooz it… alternative put in a bowl and rub together wih your hands until you get a fine crumble mix.  Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you form a firm ball.

roll out pastry or press into and up the sides of a round loose bottom tin  about 20-23 cm diameter

Step 2 : Cheesecake filling

Ingredients:

3-4 stalks of rhubarb cut into 1-2 cm lengths

500g of cream cheese (my preference is half and half ricotta and mascapone but you can use philadelphia or similar too)

250g creme fraise

8oz castor sugar

3 eggs

Method:

place rhubarb in a microwave bowl with a couple of teaspoons of water and lightly cook – for about 2 minutes – you want the rhubarb to hold its shape but be part cooked

leave to cool

mix cream cheese, creme fraise, eggs, sugar.

pour into pastry case (no need to blind bake first)

drop in the chunks of rhubarb

Step 3 : Crumble top

Ingredients:

50g butter

50g plain flour

75g dark brown sugar

Method:

rub butter and flour together to form a crumb (or use blender)

stir in the brown sugar

sprinkle on top of the cheesecake

Bake at 180 degrees / gas 3/4 for about 45 mins or until top is puffed up and browned

Leave to cool before removing from tin or cutting

Try not to eat it all in one go!!!!

Sadly I think my lot ate it so quickly I didn’t get to take a photo… better make another one so I can properly finish this blog post…..