Ginger Biscuit Cheesecake Base 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.

DIGESTIVE BISCUIT CHEESECAKE BASE

Steps:

• Crush the biscuits using a food processor so they look like fine breadcrumbs. Now add the softened butter and mix; if the mixture looks firm enough then only add a small amount or no honey at all.
• Press firmly into a small metal cutter ring to prevent air gaps.

TRIPLE GINGER CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Whizz together the biscuits or crush in a sealed bag until you get fine crumbs. Gently melt the butter, then mix into the crumbs. Press evenly into a 20cm loosebottomed round cake tin. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
• Put the remaining ingredients into a food processor and whizz until smooth. Spread over the base, then smooth the top with a knife. Leave in the fridge overnight to set. Remove the cake from the tin and top with roasted rhubarb (recipe, below) or your choice of fruit.

GINGER BISCUIT CHEESECAKE BASE

Steps:

• Crush the biscuits using a food processor until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Now add the softened butter and mix; if the mixture looks firm enough then only add a small amount of honey.
• Firmly press into a metal cutter ring or mini cheesecake tin using a tablespoon.