Baked Vanilla Cheesecake With Rhubarb And Ginger Compote Food

RHUBARB & GINGERNUT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and fill with the rhubarb. Scatter over the sugar and orange zest and pour over the juice. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod in there too, throwing the spent pod on top. Cover with foil and roast for 20 mins. Remove from the oven. Purée a third of the rhubarb, reserving the rest for the top.
• Butter a 20cm springform cake tin and line it with baking parchment. To make the base, put the biscuits in a bag and smash them with a rolling pin, or put them in a food processor and grind to crumbs. Tip into a mixing bowl, and stir in a pinch of sea salt. Pour the butter over the crumbs. Mix it together with a fork and tip it into the tin. Tap the side of the tin with your hand to even the crumbs out, and gently compress it with the back of a large spoon until it's packed in and level. You want it fairly well packed so that it holds together. Put in the fridge to chill.
• To make the filling, put the cheese and quark or yogurt into a mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat it together. Mix until combined and thickened, then fold through the rhubarb purée.
• Pile the mixture on top of the biscuit base and smooth it down. Cover with cling film and chill overnight until set. Remove the rhubarb from its syrup with a slotted spoon, tip the syrup into a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce for about 3-5 mins until the syrup is more concentrated. Allow to cool.
• Carefully remove the cheesecake from its tin. Pile the rhubarb on top and drizzle over some syrup (you can save the rest for drizzling over porridge), then scatter with the pistachios to serve.

BAKED VANILLA CHEESECAKE WITH RHUBARB AND GINGER COMPOTE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 150C/gas 2. Put an oven-proof dish full of hot water onto the lowest shelf of the oven. Brush with oil and base line a 22cm spring-clip tin with baking parchment. Melt the spread and mix with the biscuits, then press into the base of the tin and chill. In a food processor whiz the ricotta and eggs until smooth, add sweetener, vanilla, cornflour, yoghurt and soft cheese and whiz again until smooth. Pour into the cake tin and put the tin on a baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven for 50 mins, or until just set. Turn off the oven, open the door ajar and cool for 30mins. Remove and cool to room temperature before chilling for at least 3hours, or overnight. Serve with the rhubarb compote and the candied rhubarb. For the rhubarb and ginger compote: Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp water and put in a large pan with the rhubarb and sugar. Heat gently for 10mins, until the fruit has softened with a juicy sauce. Set aside to cool, then whiz until smooth.

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB COMPOTE

Steps:

• Place 1 1/2 pounds strawberries and rhubarb in medium pot.
• Mix in sugar, ginger, lime juice, and peel.
• Cook over high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring often.
• Boil 4 minutes, stirring often.
• Reduce heat to medium; simmer just until rhubarb is beginning to fall apart, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in remaining strawberries.
• Cool.
• Chill until cold at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH RHUBARB COMPOTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm springform tin with baking parchment. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs. Pour in the butter, whizz briefly again, then tip the mixture into the tin and press down firmly. Bake for 10 mins, then cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Wrap a double layer of foil, lined with cling film, around the base and sides of the tin to make it watertight. Break 400g chocolate into a pan, then pour in the cream and heat until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool slightly. Rinse the bowl of the processor, then blend the cream cheese, eggs and vanilla essence together with the melted chocolate and cream until smooth.
• Put the tin in a deep roasting tray, then pour in the filling. Half-fill the roasting tray with boiling water, bake for 1 hr, then turn the oven off. Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar for 1-2 hrs. Lift the cheesecake from the water, discard the foil, then cover with cling film and chill. The cheesecake can be made up to 3 days ahead. Grate the remaining chocolate over the cheesecake before serving.
• For the compote, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Mix the rhubarb and sugar in an ovenproof dish. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod on top of the rhubarb, then drop in the pod, too. Pour the muscat over, cover with foil, then bake for 30-40 mins, stirring halfway, until the rhubarb is cooked. Leave to cool, then remove the pod. Serve the compote with the cheesecake. The compote can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.

RHUBARB PANCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Put the rhubarb pieces into a bowl and add the sugar, honey, a squeeze of lemon juice and 3 tbsp water. Mix well, then lay the pieces flat in a roasting tray. Split the vanilla pods in half, then scrape out the seeds and reserve for the vanilla crème fraîche. Add the vanilla pods to the rhubarb, then bake in the oven for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, stir the vanilla seeds and icing sugar into the crème fraîche. When the rhubarb is cooked, drain the juices into a pan, then boil to thicken slightly. Mix the rhubarb with the stem ginger and juices, then spoon over pancakes. Top with a spoonful of vanilla crème fraîche and a sprinkling of lemon zest.
• Serve with our easiest ever pancakes. For recipe see 'Goes well with' above.

RHUBARB GINGER COMPOTE

Steps:

• Mix the following in a pot: 4 cups of washed, cut up (1" length) rhubarb, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 thumb grated fresh ginger and 1/2 cup water.
• Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rhubarb disintegrates, and most of the liquid has evaporated. Adjust for sugar and/or ginger.
• When mixture is a good sauce-like consistency, pour off into sterilized half pint jars and seal.