• Recipe by Nomvuselelo Mncube

    Zesty ClemenGold cheese cake

    Serves: 1 cheesecake
    Cooking Time: 1 hour + 4 hours or overnight, to set

    Ingredients

    • Crust
    • 300g Romany Cream biscuits
    • 100g butter, melted
    • 60ml (¼ cup) lemon curd
    • zest of 1 ClemenGold
    • Filling
    • 6 gelatine leaves
    • cold water, to cover
    • 300g cream cheese
    • 250g ricotta cheese
    • 150ml sour cream
    • 100g castor sugar
    • zest of 2 ClemenGolds
    • juice of 1 ClemenGold
    • 1 ClemenGold, peeled and segmented
    • Italian meringue topping
    • 150g castor sugar
    • 80ml (? cup) water
    • 4 egg whites
    • pinch cream of tartar
    • ClemenGold slices, to serve

    Instructions

    1

    For the crust, finely crush the biscuits in a food processer. Place the biscuit crumbs in a bowl and stir in the melted butter, lemon curd and ClemenGold zest. Press the buttery crumbs into the base of a springform cake tin and refrigerate, 15 minutes.

    2

    For the filling, soak the gelatine leaves in the water until soft, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream and sugar until light and creamy. Stir in the zest.

    3

    Pour the juice and softened gelatine leaves (squeeze out any excess water) into a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool, 10 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese mixture until smooth and thick.

    4

    Pour the filling on top of the chilled crust and refrigerate until set, 4 hours or overnight. Layer the ClemenGold segments on top of the set filling.

    5

    For the Italian meringue topping, heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to a boil, 15 minutes. Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar in a free-standing blender until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream, while whisking, until the meringue cools down and is glossy and firm, about 15 minutes.

    6

    Spoon the meringue onto the cheese cake and shape into peaks. Lightly brown the meringue using a blow torch or under the grill, 2 – 3 minutes. Serve with slices of ClemenGold.