THE TWO R’s – RHUBARB AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

I had a great dessert at lunch the other day and decided to try and replicate it, and if I say so myself…mine is better. (No-one else would say it, so I had to!) I had intended on a rhubarb clafoutis after reading a great recipe for Cherry Clafouti on Foodbuzz, but this idea took over after the lunch! I have had a lot of good feedback about Rhubarb Mousse, so I know rhubarb is on your radars…Love the tangy-ness, the tart-ness, the color, and paired with Raspberry, YUMM-O!

It is a rhubarb, crumble with a cheesecake-y centre…so unsure of exactly what I was making I began with flavor and color in mind, added raspberries for both…and voila! You can see the results and give the recipe a go. Please tell me what results you get….BUT ONLY IF THEY’RE GOOD! Hahahahaha.

NEED:
Base: 1 pkg gingernut biscuits
125 grams butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 cup quick oats
Filling: 1 kilo chopped fresh rhubarb stalks
350 grams frozen raspberries thawed (Fresh are impossible to get where I live, but use them if you can!)
5 tablespoons raw sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
500 grams creamed ricotta cheese
5 large eggs
150 grams sour cream (not light)
2 teaspoons vanilla

DO:
Steam rhubarb with raw sugar in steam oven for 25 minutes.
Cool completely.
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celcius.
Spray 10 inch spring-form pan with cooking spray.
Make base by processing all ingredients except oats in Thermomix Speed 8 until blended.
Turn blade in reverse and add oats, using stirring function until oats are mixed through.
Push 3/4 of base mix into prepared pan with the back of a spoon, making sure mix is packed down firmly.
Reserve remaining base mix for topping and set aside in seperate bowl.
Bake the base in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes until fragrant.
Without cleaning Thermomix bowl, blend all filling ingredients except fruit until smooth and creamy.
Mix raspberries with steamed rhubarb gently so as not to break the fruit up too much.
Pour cheesecake mix onto base.
Gently put fruit on top of cheese filling and try to distribute evenly throughout cake.
Place crumble (base) mix on top.
Bake in oven for around 75 minutes or until middle is set when you shake it.
Chill completely.

SERVE:
Slice and serve with fresh cream (I used King Island Cream…THE best in Australia!) Of course the addition of cream totally kills the low-fat properties of the ricotta….but you could argue that it halves the fat content that you would have if the recipe called for cream cheese…AND a dollop of cream to serve!  Female logic…you can’t beat it.