Recipe of the month: Lemon Ricotta and Honey Cheesecake

Ingredients 

half a packet of digestive biscuits or amaretti biscuits

5 tbsp. ground almonds

55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar

100g butter melted

295g ( approx. 1 1/3 cups) caster sugar

250g mascarpone or soft cream cheese

500g ricotta

Juice from half a lemon

4 eggs

half a cup of runny honey

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp. water into a paste

Directions

To make the base, preheat the oven to 180c 350f

Add the biscuits, sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb is achieved. Mix with melted butter and press into greased 24cm (9 inch) spring form pan lined with baking paper. Using the back of a spoon firmly press the base mixture into the pan and up the sides of the tin and bake for 15 minutes.

Turn oven down to 150c and leave the door open for 5 minutes so it cools right down.

Make the filling

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, (or by hand in a bowl with a whisk) whip the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, honey. sugar, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Once whipped and creamy add the corn flour mixture and mix again.

Pour oven cooked base and bake for 40 to 60 minutes (I checked it at 40 minutes but it needed a lot longer almost 65 minutes)

it is ready when it is firm around the edges but has a slight giggle in the middle. Turn off oven and leave it in their with the door closed for 40 minutes.

Allow to cool completely and then place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nut clusters

1/2 cup flaked almonds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 table spoon runny honey

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 180c 

Mix all the ingredients together and spread on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes then toss and mix the mixture and then bake for another 2 minutes and stir them again so they will be evenly browned and bake for another 2 minutes. Once golden remove tray from the oven and while the mixture is still hot arrange the almonds into clusters and leave to cool.

To assemble the cheesecake

Place on a few chunks of honeycomb and a drizzle of honey and add the nut clusters then grate on some lemon zest and if you have some add some fennel pollen. Finish with some lemon thyme.

Alternatively you can dust it with icing sugar and serve it with berries.