'Tsunami' ube cheesecake

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These beautiful mini cheesecakes are flavoured with ube – a purple, slightly nutty and vanilla-like sweet potato from the Philippines. The cakes are served with the acetate still attached, which is then removed at the table to create a 'tsunami' of bright purple sauce.

You can of course make these cheesecakes without acetate and just serve the sauce alongside, but it is an easy way to add some theatrics to your dessert! They can also be made up in advance, so all you need to do on the day is take them out of the fridge and practice your acetate-removing skills.

First published in 2022

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Base

  • 100g of butter
  • 200g of ginger snaps

Cheesecake mix

  • 600g of full fat soft cheese
  • 100g of icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 300ml of double cream

Ube sauce

  • 250g of milk
  • 250g of double cream
  • 150g of sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 10ml of ube essence
  • 5g of powdered gelatine

To decorate

  • 8 tsps of white chocolate balls, or you could also use grated white chocolate or white chocolate buttons

Equipment

  • Blender
  • 6cm high sided ring moulds 8
  • Acetate

Method

1

Begin by lining 6cm metal rings with sheets of acetate that are 6cm in height

2

Blend the ginger snaps and butter together to create the base, then push the base into the bottom of each ring, approx 5mm high. Place in the fridge to set

  • 100g of butter
  • 200g of ginger snaps
3

In a bowl, beat together the soft cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence 

  • 600g of full fat soft cheese
  • 100g of icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
4

In a separate bowl, whisk the double cream into soft peaks, then fold this through the soft cheese mixture. Spoon this into each mold, leaving 2cm space at the top of the acetate for the ube sauce. Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours

  • 300ml of double cream
5

To make the ube sauce, bring the milk and cream to the boil with 50g of the sugar. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining sugar together with the yolks until thick and pale

  • 250g of milk
  • 250g of double cream
  • 150g of sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
6

Once the milk mixture reaches the boil, remove from the heat and slowly whisk into the whisked yolks. Transfer back to the pan and place over the heat, stirring until it reaches 70ºC, then whisk in the ube essence and remove from the heat

  • 10ml of ube essence
7

Measure out 200ml of the sauce into a bowl and reserve the rest in the fridge. Whisk the powdered gelatine into the 200ml of sauce and leave to cool to room temperature. Once at room temperature, pour the sauce onto each cheesecake to create a 5mm-thick topping. Place in the fridge to set fully for at least 2 hours

  • 5g of powdered gelatine
8

When ready to serve, carefully pour the remaining sauce into each mould until it reaches the top of the acetate. Decorate with the white chocolate balls

  • 8 tsps of white chocolate balls, or you could also use grated white chocolate or white chocolate buttons
9

Very gently remove the metal rings, leaving the acetate in place. Bring the cheesecakes to the table, then quickly peel off the acetate in front of your guests to create a 'tsunami' of sauce, which will pool around the base of the cheesecakes

First published in 2022

Before taking a contract on a cruise ship where he worked alongside a number of Filipino chefs, Jeremy Villanueva had only ever cooked classical French cuisine professionally. Now, having taken time to relearn the cuisine he grew up eating, he’s the executive chef at Filipino restaurants Romulo Café and Kasa & Kin in London.

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