Baked cheesecake with honeycomb and shortbread crumble

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Sprinkled with chewy honeycomb and crumbly shortbread biscuit, this white chocolate baked cheesecake recipe by Josh Eggleton is a slice of pure caramel-infused heaven. The cheesecake is served with crumbly shortbread, honeycomb and grapefruit gel for a tangy finish.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Cheesecake filling

Cheesecake base

  • 150g of caster sugar
  • 200g of digestive biscuits
  • 70g of butter, melted

Honeycomb

  • 200g of caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp of golden syrup
  • 3 tbsp of water
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Shortbread

  • 170g of plain flour
  • 110g of unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 50g of caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • salt, to taste

Grapefruit gel

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • Hand blender
  • 20cm springform cake tin
  • Baking tray 2
  • Baking sheet
  • Roasting tray

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 110°C/gas mark 1/4
2

To make the cheesecake filling, first melt the chocolate in a microwave. Blend the melted chocolate, sugar, mascarpone and eggs in a food processor until homogeneous and completely smooth

3
Pour the filling mixture into a small, deep baking tray and cover with foil. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until just set, checking the mixture after 40 minutes of baking. Once baked, remove the foil and allow to cool to room temperature
4

While the filling is baking, make a start on the base of the cheesecake by lining a baking sheet with greaseproof paper

5

Gently heat the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan until caramelised – do not to stir the sugar. Pour the caramel onto the pre-lined baking sheet to cool

  • 150g of caster sugar
6
Line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper
7

Break the cooled caramel into pieces and add to a food processor with the digestive biscuits. Blitz to an even powder then add the melted butter and blend again

  • 200g of digestive biscuits
  • 70g of butter, melted
8
Tip the base mix into the pre-lined cake tin, smooth down with a spoon and place in the fridge to set
9
Blend the set filling in a food processor, pour over the set base and smooth down with a hot palette knife. Return to the fridge for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, to re-set
10
Whilst the cheesecake is setting, line a roasting tray with greaseproof paper for the honeycomb
11
Pour the sugar, golden syrup and water into a pan and place over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up and bring to the boil. Allow the sugar syrup to boil until it turns a deep amber colour
  • 200g of caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp of golden syrup
  • 3 tbsp of water
12
Quickly mix the bicarbonate of soda into the amber syrup using a spatula, being careful not to over-mix. Pour the contents of the pan into the pre-lined roasting tray and leave the honeycomb to set for 30 minutes
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
13
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
14
To make the shortbread, start by lining a small baking tray with greaseproof paper
15
Whisk the butter until smooth and creamy, then add the sugar, salt and vanilla and whisk again
  • 110g of unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • salt, to taste
  • 50g of caster sugar
16
Gently fold in the flour with your hands until well combined and smooth
  • 170g of plain flour
17
Push the shortbread dough into the pre-lined tray so that it forms an even layer about 2cm deep. Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until golden brown
18
To make the gel first bring the purée, water, salt and sugar to the boil in a small saucepan and whisk to make sure the sugar has dissolved. Blend the agar agar in with a stick blender and re-boil the liquid
19
Pass the liquid through a sieve into a plastic container and allow to set in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour
20
Once set, blend the gel until smooth and funnel into a plastic bottle ready to serve. You can reset and re-blend the gel if not used immediately
21
When ready to serve, slice the cheesecake into individual portions. Crumble the shortbread and honeycomb over each slice, decorating with fresh seasonal fruit and small dollops of the grapefruit gel to finish
First published in 2016

Josh Eggleton turned down jobs with some of Britain’s most renowned chefs in order to follow his dream of running his own establishment. At The Pony Chew Valley, he cooks modern British food with an emphasis on sustainability and artisanship.

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