Rhubarb and Lemon Baked Cheesecake

This dessert is a celebration of all things seasonal with rhubarb in full flow here in the UK right now and lemon being the perfect flavour for summer...

Now, I'm a big cheesecake fan myself but I also live with a HUGE cheesecake lover so if ever there's a special occasion then I tend to do a variation on that theme. This particular cheesecake is of the baked variety and, even if I do say so myself, the combination of flavours and textures is heavenly - you simply have to give it a go!

Rhubarb and Lemon Baked Cheesecake

100g mascarpone 
600g full-fat cream cheese 
150g golden caster sugar 
Grated zest of 2 lemons 
2 tbsp plain flour 
3 medium free-range eggs and 2 yolks, beaten 
100g soured cream 

For the rhubarb curd:
360g trimmed rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces 
50g golden caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra to taste 
2 tbsp grenadine 
2 tbsp cornflour 
2 medium free-range egg yolks 
50g butter, melted 

For the base:
60g butter, plus extra for greasing 
200g ginger nut biscuits

To make the rhubarb curd, mix the rhubarb, the 50g golden caster sugar and grenadine in a pan. Heat gently for about 12 minutes or until the rhubarb starts to break down. Remove and purée in a food processor, then return to the pan. Mix the cornflour with a little of the rhubarb purée from the pan to make a paste, then return to the pan, bring to the boil and bubble for a minute. Taste and, if it’s too tart, add 1 tbsp more sugar. In a bowl, whisk the yolks with the butter and rhubarb mixture. Cover and cool completely. 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. To make the base, butter a 22cm x 9cm deep, loose-bottomed sandwich tin and line the base with a circle of baking paper. Break the biscuits into a food processor and blitz until you have a fine crumb. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the crushed biscuits. Stir until well coated, then spoon over the base of the prepared sandwich tin, pressing down to ensure a firm, even layer. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

To make the cheesecake mixture, beat the mascarpone and cream cheese for 2 minutes with an electric hand mixer until really smooth. Add the sugar and continue to whisk for a couple of minutes more. Beat in the lemon zest and flour, followed by the beaten eggs, a little at a time, then fold through the soured cream. 

Spoon layers of the cheesecake mixture and rhubarb curd into the tin and ripple the top with a wooden skewer. Bake for 50 minutes until golden with a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and leave inside to cool completely. Carefully remove from the tin to a serving plate.


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