Alsatian cheesecake with stewed rhubarb topping
Ingredients
Pastry dough
- 4 tablespoon butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup plain white flour
Filling
- 2 egg yolks
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup icing sugar, divided
- 2 1/2 tablespoons corn flour
- 3 tablespoons milk powder
- 1¼ cups fromage blanc, thick Greek yoghurt or quark
- 7 egg whites
Stewed rhubarb
- 6 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Directions
Pastry dough
- Beat butter, icing sugar and salt until soft and creamy.
- Add egg yolk and mix until it is a smooth paste. Add flour.
- Mix until flour is fully incorporated into the butter mixture.
- Line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with a parchment circle and grease the sides.
- Transfer mixture into the pan and press it into the bottom of the pan gently, smoothing out with a spatula.
- Prick the pastry base several times with a fork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the pastry for 15 minutes or until it is golden. Remove from oven and leave to cool.
Filling
- Whisk egg yolks, lemon zest, vanilla and half the icing sugar until thick and creamy.
- Beat in corn flour and milk powder, followed by fromage blanc or quark.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites with two tablespoons of icing sugar.
- When the whites become foamy, add lemon juice and remaining icing sugar. Whisk until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold one third of the egg whites into the fromage blanc mixture until smooth. Repeat with remaining egg whites.
- Wrap the entire bottom of the springform pan in foil (to avoid leaking) and place it in a large, deep roasting tray. Pour in the filling mixture over the baked crust, spreading evenly.
- Pour an inch of water into the tray as a water bath and place in the preheated oven. Lower the temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 60 minutes and cool on a baking rack.
- Run a knife around the inner edges of the tin before unmoulding the cheesecake.
Stewed rhubarb
- In large saucepan, combine rhubarb, sugar and water and cook over medium heat.
- Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered.
- Stir the mixture occasionally for about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened and the rhubarb begins to thread.
- Let cool before serving. Rhubarb can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to five days.
