Tropical sunshine meets classic cheesecake in this very easy to prepare dessert. With a roasted and fresh fruit topping, this summery treat would provide a perfect happy ending to a main course with spicy Asian, Carribbean or Mexican flavours.
Ingredients
- 3 scant cups (650 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) plus 1 tbsp rapadura sugar (raw cane sugar)
- 3 eggs
- 1⅓ cups (300 ml) coconut cream
- 2 finely grated lime zest and juice
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
Coconut Base
- 4½ oz (130 g) digestive biscuits/graham crackers
- generous¾ cup (60 g) desiccated/dried shredded coconut
- 1 stick minus 1 tbsp (100 g) butter, melted
Roasted Pineapple
- scant 1 cup (190 g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 fresh ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 2 freshly squeezed limes juice
- 1 fresh firm mango, peeled, pitted and spiralized or grated, to serve
- fresh mint leaves, to decorate
- 23-cm/9-inch loose-based cake pan, buttered and base-lined with baking parchment
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
- First, make the coconut base. Blitz the biscuits/graham crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor. Tip into a bowl and mix with the desiccated/dried shredded coconut and melted butter. Press into the base of the prepared cake pan in an even layer and bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes until golden.
- Remove the base from the oven and leave to cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (325°F) Gas 3.
- Meanwhile, blend the cream cheese with the rapadura (raw cane sugar) in a food processor until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing after each addition to combine. Add the coconut cream, lime zest and juice and vanilla paste and process one last time until the ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture over the baked coconut base and smooth over with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes until lightly golden on top and set around the edges with a slight wobble in the centre. Leave to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2–3 hours until completely chilled.
- Meanwhile, to make the roasted pineapple, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
- Spread the brown sugar in the base of a roasting tray. Add the pineapple chunks in a single layer. Roast in the preheated oven, turning occasionally, until the sugar has melted and the pineapple has become caramelized.
- Remove the fruit to a bowl and strain the syrup from the pan into another bowl. Stir the lime juice into the syrup and refrigerate both the pineapple and syrup separately until chilled.
- Serve the cheesecake topped with the caramelized pineapple and spiralized fresh mango. Drizzle with the syrup and sprinkle with fresh mint leaves to decorate.
