Lime and ginger cheesecakes with caramelised apples

I have made about three cheesecakes in my life. I am not sure why I don't make it more often. Probably because there are so many other sweet things to cook and taste, that I forget about the humble cheesecake.

Austrian's don't eat a lot of cheesecake. It is not on every cafe menu as it is in Australia. Actually the only place I have ever seen it for sale here was at McCafe (shock horror, yes I have been there!) here in Vienna.

Not sure why I decided to cook these lovely little cheesecakes, but I'm very happy I did. They were delicious; creamy cheesecake with the spice of ginger and tang of lime, a lovely crunchy base and the soft caramel apples on the wide. It was worth the effort to make them!

And I made the cheesecakes without a food processor (as I don't have one). I don't think it effected the taste or texture but feel free to use a food processor to make yours.

The apples used in this recipe were picked fresh from the tree in Mantler's Garden on the weekend. I was so excited to cook with apples so fresh and crisp. Thank you Franz and Andrea for the apples (and the schnapps).

What you'll need

*This recipe made nine small, individual cheesecakes.

For the base
170g plain sweet biscuits (Nice or Marie in Australia, Leibniz Vollkorn in Austria)
120g melted butter

For the filling
500g soft cream cheese (Philadelphia brand)
Juice and zest of two limes
Thumb-sized chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 tsp powdered gelatine
2 tbl boiling water
80g caster sugar

For the caramelized apples
4 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
50g caster sugar
100g butter
1 tsp cinnamon

 

What to do

Well-grease a nine-portion muffin tin (or you can line the muffin pan with greased muffin cases). Alternatively, you can use individual cake pans or glass molds, as I did

Crush the biscuits until very fine like breadcrumbs. You can do in a food processor or put the biscuits in a plastic bag and whack with a rolling pin.

Put the biscuit crumbs in a bowl and pour in the melted butter. Mix until combined. Place a tablespoon of biscuit mixture into each muffin case or container. Press down either with the back of a spoon or clean fingers to compress the mixture and spread it evenly to the edges. You can make the mixture go a little up the sides if you like.

Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

Make the cheese filling. Add the cream cheese into a bowl and mix with the lime juice, sugar and ginger (or mix it in a food processor for three minutes). Mix until well-combined.

Make the gelatine. In a small bowl or cup add the boiling water, then pour in the gelatine powder. Mix quickly until dissolved. If the gelatine mixture is still a bit lumpy, microwave it for 15 seconds to help dissolve it. Pour this into the cheese mixture and mix well.

Remove the cheesecake bases from the fridge. Spoon approximately one heaped tablespoon of cheese mixture into each mold. Tap on the bench to settle the mixture.

Place back in the fridge and refrigerate for at least six hours to set.

Make the caramelized apples. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sugar and stir to combined. Once bubbling, pour in the chopped apples. Cook for approximately 10 minutes until the apples are soft and starting collapsing. Set aside.

To serve, remove the cheesecakes gently from the mold or paper case. Place on a plate, spoon some of the caramelized apples to the side, and sprinkle some of the reserved lime zest onto the top of the cheesecake.
Bring the the table to 'ohhs and ahhs' from your family.