Creamy Tropical Cheesecake

Creamy Tropical Cheesecake

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the base

• 2tbsp caster sugar

• 4tbsp butter

• 170g digestives

For the cheesecake

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 70g caster sugar

• 75g Greek Yoghurt ( I used Fage )

• 35ml double or single cream ( Again, double will give richer, creamier results )

• 224g cream cheese ( I used light but full fat will give creamier results )

• pinch salt

• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped ( or 1 tsp vanilla essence/paste )

For the topping

• insides of 3 passion fruits + enough water to make 100ml

• 25g castor sugar

• 4g gelatine powder

For the mango sauce

• 150g ripe mango, cut into cubes

• 20g castor sugar

• juice and zest of half a lime

For the Poached Pineapple

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom or crushed cardamom seeds

• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

• 2 tbsp water

• 35g sugar ( I used 2 dessert spoons of sugar with stevia )

• 150g pineapple chunks, thinly sliced

For the Tuile *optional

• 4 thin slices of lime *

• 200ml water

• 50g caster sugar

To Serve

• coconut ice cream

• Mango- diced, to serve

• lime zest, to serve*

Method

- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, fan.

- Combine the base ingredients in a blender then press with a spatula into a lined pan that is big enough to accommodate the base paste ( it should be only a couple mm thick ).

- Pop in the oven to bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool. Reduce the oven to 160 degrees.

- Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, salt and vanilla for 1 minute, with a whisk.

- Gradually add the sugar and slowly beat. Once all incorporated beat quickly for 15 seconds.

- Slowly add in the egg. Pop in the rest and beat for a further 30 seconds.

- Pour over the base and place back in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes or until the edges are puffed and from but the middle still wobbles slightly when tapped. Turn off the oven, open the door and allow it to cool to room temperature.

- For the topping, simply combine everything except the gelatine in a sauce pan. Bring it to the boil then reduce to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken slightly before adding in the gelatine and stir well. Set aside.

- For the sauce, add everything to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir. Once most of the liquid has reduced, pour half of the softened mango chunks into a bowl and the other half in a blender.

- Blitz until smooth then pass through a sieve over the bowl with the mango chunks. Try to squeeze as much as the juice out.

- For the Pineapple, add the sugar, vanilla and cardamom to a shallow and small frying pan. Cook for a minute before adding the water. bring to a boil before adding the pineapple chunks. Cook until most of the liquid has reduced and set aside.

- For the tuile, add everything to a small sauce pan and gently boil the slices until the skin turns transparent.

- Gently dry the slices of with kitchen paper then add to the oven to dry for the remainder of the cooking time. Once the cheesecake is done, leave them in the oven to further dry.

- Once the cheesecake is ready and room temp, remove it and the slices from the oven. Let the slices to dry on kitchen roll.

- Pour over the topping. Pop it in the freezer until the topping has set. Cut it into slices and serve with a scoop of ice cream, a lime tuile, drizzle of mango sauce, poached pineapple and finally, a sprinkle of lime zest or toasted coconut and you're set to go!

* As you can see below, you can replace anywhere in this recipe that uses lime with orange for a slightly different, but still wonderful taste. It's just up to you, I just love the combinations of mango and lime.