Sweet and sharp: Cheesecake is the perfect foil for tangy rhubarb

At a time of year when colour is in short supply, the shocking-pink hues of forced rhubarb stems is irresistible. Rhubarb seems to be one of those “love it or hate it” foods. I love it in all its forms, especially the forced variety, which is such a treat at this time of year. It is readily available and worth picking up in greengrocers whenever you see it.

You can’t fail to be enchanted by the idea of rhubarb being picked by candlelight in the depths of winter. I particularly love the traditional terracotta rhubarb forcing pots. They look so handsome standing proudly in an otherwise sparse winter vegetable garden, hiding the spindly pink stems under their little clay hats.

If you’re forcing rhubarb at home, an upturned dustbin is a little more prosaic, but the results are just as effective. In the forcing process, early rhubarb is plunged into darkness over winter and so sends up tall narrow pink stems searching for light. These have a more delicate texture than the later, more fibrous stems that are grown in the open and exposed to the elements.

These delicate stems will quickly disintegrate if they are not cooked with care. I often recommend lightly roasting rhubarb as an excellent way to keep the whole pieces of stem intact (they have a tendency to liquefy quickly when you stew them).

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In this recipe we are making a compote, so when the rhubarb is cooked in the pan, stir it as little as possible and stop cooking as soon as it is tender.

This baked cheesecake is the perfect creamy foil for the sharp tang of the rhubarb. It makes a wonderful late-winter dessert and may even convert those diehard rhubarb sceptics.

Sometimes, even with forced rhubarb, I like to add some extra berries to help achieve a nice pink colour. Alternatively, adding a dollop of raspberry jam to the compote will also help you get a more vibrant pink tone.

RHUBARB AND GINGER CHEESECAKE

Serves eight

Ingredients
250g digestive biscuits
100g butter, melted (plus extra for greasing)
250g ricotta cheese
250g mascarpone cream
125ml cream
150g caster sugar
2 pieces stem ginger, in syrup (finely chopped)
1tbsp ginger syrup
Zest of 1 orange
4 large eggs

Rhubarb compote:
500g "pink" forced rhubarb
100g sugar
100g raspberries
1tbsp orange juice
50g butter
2 egg yolks

Method
1. You will need either a 20cm square loose bottomed cake tin or a 20cm round springform tin. Preheat an oven to 170 degrees, or equivalent.

2. First make the rhubarb compote. Chop the rhubarb into dice-sized pieces and add to a medium saucepan with 100g of sugar and cook gently for five minutes, until the rhubarb is just starting to soften and break down. While it is still warm, transfer half the rhubarb compote to a small food processor (or use a handheld stick blender) and blitz to a smooth paste, then allow it to cool for five minutes. Once cooled but still warm, add 50g of butter and two egg yolks and blitz in the food processor. This mixture is the rhubarb curd (which will be swirled through the creamy filling before baking).

3. To the other half of the warm rhubarb remaining in the saucepan, add the fresh raspberries and a squeeze of orange juice, and allow the raspberries to partially break down as you stir. Set this aside to chill in the refrigerator until serving.

4. Before you fill the tin, grease it well with some butter and wrap around the outside base with foil, packing the foil very tightly while folding the foil from the bottom up the sides (this will ensure there are no leakages and the foil will reflect the direct heat during baking).

5. Break down the biscuits in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add melted butter and blitz to a wet sand consistency.

6. Press the wet biscuit crumbs tightly into the well greased cake tin and smooth the surface so there is no lose crumb. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden the base.

7. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, slowly whisk the ricotta and mascarpone together until smooth, then add the cream, sugar, chopped ginger, syrup and orange zest and blend until smooth. Gradually add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.

8. Pour the cheesecake filling into the chilled biscuit base and then gently swirl the rhubarb curd through the filling with a palette knife.

9. Carefully transfer the cheesecake to a bain marie (deep baking tray half filled with water) and bake in the preheated oven at 170 degrees, or equivalent, for about 40-50 minutes. Once it is browned on the top and has a slight wobble in the centre, switch off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour, then allow to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to serve garnished with the chilled rhubarb and raspberry compote.

Variation

When forced rhubarb is not in season, use any mixed red berries to make the compote.