The Baking Ginger: Mandarin Cheesecake

Retro Mandarin Cheesecake!

This isn't technically baking... there's actually no cooking involved in making it at all... but it's delicious all the same! I made it for dessert for Mum and Dad's 27th wedding anniversary, with Dad's favourite cheese and onion pie for the main course!

It's an adaptation of Gordon Ramsey's cheesecake for his Cook-a-long Live, so it's really simple, quick and delicious - what more would you ask for in a pudding?!

Manadrin Cheesecake

Serves 6/8 generously

Fine biscuit crumbs

Ingredients:

Base:

- 175g digestive biscuits

- 75g butter

Filling:

- 400g fullfat cream cheese

- 1 vanilla pod

- zest of 1 orange

- 100g icing sugar

- 300ml double cream

Topping:

Buttery biscuit base

- 400g tinned mandarins

20cm springform cake tin, or 6/8 individual serving dishes

Method:

1. Lightly grease a 20cm/8" spring-form cake tin with butter.

2. Make the base by smashing up digestives with a rolling pin, until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.

3. Melt the butter in the microwave, usually doing it at 10/20 second intervals until it's liquid. Add the butter to the digestives and mix until they're all coated.

De-seeding the vanilla

4. Press the biscuits into the base of the greased tin, so they form an even, compact layer. Put in the fridge to chill for at least an hour, so you can spread the filling on top easily.

5. Once your base has set you can make the filling; in a bowl whip the double cream to soft peaks.

6. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese into a smooth paste - should only take 10 seconds or so. Split the vanilla pod open, scrape out the seeds and add to the cream cheese. Zest the orange using a microplane grater and add it to the cream cheese too. Mix to combine.

7. Add the icing sugar to the cream cheese and mix slowly until it's combined so you don't cover yourself in it!

8. Fold the whipped cream through the cream cheese, spoon onto the base and level out with a palette knife.

Cream cheese and cream combined

9. Put back in the fridge for at least an hour to let it the topping firm up.

10. When you're ready to serve, drain the mandarins and arrange on the top, serving any extras on the side, or scatter all of them over the top of the cheesecake.

This cheesecake will last for 3/4 days in the fridge after you've made it, but as usual, it won't last a day in our house!

Happy Baking,

The Baking Ginger xx