Rhubarb & Ginger Cheesecake

Felicity Vincent
Apr 1, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Aug 1, 2024

Baked Rhubarb & Vanilla Cheesecake with a Ginger Snap Biscuit Base

The ultimate springtime dessert: a buttery ginger snap biscuit base that pairs perfectly with the creamy vanilla cheesecake and sharp rhubarb ripple filling (inspired by rhubarb and custard), all topped off beautifully with stewed rhubarb, stem ginger and magnolia flowers.

Ingredients (serves 8-12):

Cheesecake Filling:

630g full fat cream cheese
180g caster sugar
2 Tbs plain flour
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 medium eggs
1 egg yolk
150mL double cream

Biscuit Base:

250g ginger snap biscuits
125g salted butter

Rhubarb Ripple:

210g rhubarb
2 Tbs brown sugar (or caster sugar)
1/2 orange, juiced

Sour Cream Icing:

150mL sour cream
110g icing sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Stewed Rhubarb Topping:

164g rhubarb
4 Tbs brown sugar (or caster sugar)
1 1/2 oranges, juiced
2 Tbs water

Additional toppings:

1 stem ginger
Magnolia flower petals

Method:

I recommend making this the day before.

Start with the biscuit base:

Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Crush the biscuits in a bowl using the end of a rolling pin or use a food processor until they resemble bread crumbs.
Melt the butter in a microwavable bowl and pour it over the crushed biscuits then stir to combine.
Line a cheesecake tin (springform cake tin, I used a 20cm one) by removing the bottom, placing a square piece of parchment paper on top and pressing it in using the removable bottom so the paper lines the inside walls of the tin and is trapped by the bottom. Then the cheesecake mix won't be able to leak out. (I've added a video below if you are a visual learner like me). Then brush the bottom of the tin and parchment paper with any melted butter you have left in the bowl.
Press the biscuit crumb mixture into the tin, making it as compact as you can. I recommend using the back of a spoon.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes then remove and leave to cool down.

Make the rhubarb ripple:

Remove any rhubarb leaves and finely dice the stalks.
Place them in an oven proof dish and stir in the orange juice and sugar.
Bake in the 180°C oven for 20 minutes.
Spoon into a bowl and leave to cool down a bit.

Make the stewed rhubarb topping:

Slice the remaining rhubarb stalks on a bias into 1 inch pieces.
Place them in the same oven proof dish (less washing) and stir in the sugar, orange juice and water.
Bake in the 180°C oven for 30 minutes then remove and leave to cool before storing in the fridge until the cheesecake is ready to serve.

Make the cheesecake filling:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a spatula until softened. Add the sugar and stir vigorously with the spatula to combine.
Add the flour and vanilla and stir them into the mix.
Swap the spatula for a large whisk and add the eggs in one by one, mixing to combine each time and finishing with the yolk.
Finally, whisk in the cream until the mixture has thickened slightly. It should be smooth and a bit airy, if you have an electric whisk then that's even better.
Place the cake tin on a baking sheet (for ease), then pour the cheesecake mix onto the biscuit base and smooth the top off with a knife.
Dollop in little teaspoons of the rhubarb ripple and then ripple it through the cheesecake batter with a toothpick or the tip of a knife.
Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature down to 150°C and cook for a further 45 minutes. I have a gas oven and mine actually ended up taking 1h15 to cook, I just kept checking the wobble every 10 minutes after 45 minutes. The cheesecake should go from a liquid jiggle to a solid jelly-like wobble throughout.
Once you're happy with the wobble (again video below), turn the oven off and prop the oven door open with a wooden spatula leaving the cheesecake to cool down.
In the meantime, make the icing by sieving the icing sugar into a bowl and whisking in the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla paste.
Once the rhubarb cheesecake is cooled, top with the icing and leave to set in the fridge overnight (or for a couple of hours)

Decoration time:

Magnolia flowers have a gingery floral note which I think works really well with this, so if you have a tree nearby that you can forage from (always ask the landowner's permission) then they make a great decoration.
Just wash the petals in cold water then dry them and scatter across the top of the cheesecake along with pieces of the stewed rhubarb and thin slices of stem ginger.
Cut a slice of cheesecake and serve with a drizzle of the stewed rhubarb on top.
Bon appétit!