Rhubarb and Rose Baked Cheesecake

This is a take on a recipe I found in a Waitrose booklet, slightly tweaked as the original wanted you to buy shortbread for the base (why?).  Also, the original recipe sieved the rhubarb to purée it, but I decided that life was too short....

 It was the first time I have tried to make a baked cheesecake, and I was pleased with the result, although it would look better if I had made it with beautiful pink spring rhubarb instead of the greener garden rhubarb!   Tested on the Army, it was eaten to the last crumb...   The recipe calls for the cheesecake to be left in the oven for some time with the oven turned off, so the actual cooking time is quite long as a result.   My oven runs hot, so I cooked it at 180 deg C instead of the 200 deg suggested, as I was concerned that it would burn on the top.  

If you used gluten free digestive biscuits, the recipe then becomes suitable for coeliacs.

Rhubarb and Rose Baked Cheesecake

Rhubarb and Rosewater Baked Cheesecake

8oz/225g crushed digestive biscuits (or Hobnobs)

4oz/120g butter, melted

1lb/450g rhubarb cut into 1-1½”/3cm lengths

5oz/125g jam sugar

½ tsp rose water (Nielsen-Massey is the best of the supermarket ones)

1 ½ lbs/700g soft cheese (I used a mixture of mascarpone and cream/soft cheese – all high fat content)

1oz/25g cornflour

4oz/120g caster sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

4floz/100ml double cream

½ tsp vanilla essence (and I added another ½ tsp rose water)

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange

Line the base of a 9” spring clip tin with baking parchment.   Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter, press into the tin and chill until set. 

Heat the oven to 200º C.   Put the rhubarb, jam sugar and 2tbsp cold water into a shallow pan/frying pan and cook it gently until it is soft.  If you try not to stir it, you should keep the individual pieces of rhubarb.   The poaching liquid should become quite syrupy – if it gets too dry, add a little more water, but you are aiming for a thick texture.    Sprinkle ½ tsp rose water over it and allow it to cool.  When cool, remove half of it (the less attractive pieces!) and beat them up to form a rough purée. 

Beat together the cheese, cornflour and sugar until the cheese has broken down in texture.  Then add the eggs and cream and stir in the lemon and orange zest.  Beat until the mixture is smooth, with no residual lumps of cheese.  Pour half of the mix onto the biscuit base, then add big spoonfuls of the rhubarb purée.  Finally, spread the remaining cheesecake mixture over the top, before giving it a brief stir to marble the cheesecake with the rhubarb.  

Bake at 200 deg C for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 120 deg C and cook for 55 minutes.  Turn the oven off, leave the cheesecake for 1 hour, then open the door slightly and leave it for another hour. 

Remove from the oven and cool before chilling, preferably overnight.    To serve, place the remaining rhubarb on the top and pour over the last of the cooking liquid.