To put it mildly, my rhubarb this year hasn’t been a success. Spindly, green and very very bitter. Having to add so much sugar to make it palatable undoes all the good eating home grown, organic food does for you. So I cut it all down, smothered the whole lot in well rotted manure and now I wait to see if it grows back pinker and sweeter.
In the meantime my allotment neighbour, Lesley the Vicar’s wife, kindly allowed me to pick some of hers. I must say that every time I look at what she’s growing a strange feeling starts to take control. I think it may be allotment envy.
So, shiny, sweet, pink rhubarb in hand, I thought a nice tangy cheesecake would go down a treat with this early Summer we have been experiencing. The base is classic unbaked cheesecake. The topping is a sort of mix between a cheesecake mixture and a fruit fool.
This made about 8 individual cheesecakes which I served in a selection of old school desert glasses found in various local charity shops.
for the base
200g digestive biscuits – crushed
100g butter – melted
the topping
4 sticks of rhubarb – chopped
4 tablespoons caster sugar
4 tablespoons water
½ ball of stem ginger – very finely chopped
a little of the syrup from the stem ginger
200g low fat cream cheese
200ml double cream
Start by making the base. Mix the melted butter into the crushed biscuits, divide equally into your glasses or dishes, press down a little then place in the fridge to set.
Place the rhubarb, water and sugar in a pan, cover and heat gently until the rhubarb is nice a soft. Add the chopped ginger and the syrup. Leave to cool.
Beat the cream cheese and add the cooled stewed rhubarb. Whip the double cream until it holds its shape. Fold into the cheese and rhubarb mixture. Divide equally into the glasses onto the biscuit base. Chill again in the fridge for about an hour.
