RECIPE | Baked lemon and ginger cheesecake
Want to make your cheesecake the talk of the town at your next dinner party? Try Sandra Dimech’s recipe for a baked lemon cheesecake with an added kick of ginger – a perfect combo of creamy, lemony and spicy.
Rachel Zammit Cutajar
Who can resist the cool, creamy topping of cheesecake on a crunchy biscuit base in the heat of summer? Whether you opt for the drier Italian style made with ricotta or the creamier New York version made with cream cheese, heavy cream and sour cream, this dessert is the perfect solution for planning those barbecues ahead of time and just whipping it out after a long day at the beach. Add a touch of ground ginger to your biscuit base and some freshly grated ginger to the topping and you’ll have your guests talking about your luscious dessert for the remainder of the evening (and a few days after).
Baked lemon and ginger cheesecake
Ingredients
Base
- 300g digestive biscuits, crushed
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 150g melted butter
Filling
- 600g cream cheese
- 250g caster sugar
- 150ml natural yoghurt
- 3 eggs
- 2 lemons, finely zested
- 3 tbsps lemon juice
- 50g plain flour
Topping
- 150ml natural yoghurt
- 150ml fresh cream
- 30g grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Lemon zest to garnish
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Line the base of a greased 26cm springform cake tin.
- In a bowl mix crushed biscuits, ground ginger and icing sugar.
- Add melted butter and mix well.
- Press the biscuit mixture into cake tin and bake for 10 mins.
- In a separate bowl use an electric whisk to beat the soft cheese with the sugar until well blended and smooth.
- Beat in the yoghurt, then the eggs one at a time.
- Finally beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice and sifted flour.
- Pour the filling over the biscuit base.
- Bake in the oven at 230°C for 10 mins, reducing to 120°C and continue baking for a further 50 mins.
- In the meantime make the topping . Combine yoghurt, cream, grated ginger and caster sugar together.
- Towards the end of the 50 mins take cheesecake out of oven and pour the filling over it.
- Return to oven and bake for a further 30 mins.
- Loosen the cake from the sides of the tin with a knife and allow to cool . Before serving garnish with grated lemon zest.
