feijoa cheesecake

This recipe was featured in the April edition of NZ Gardener.

FEIJOA CHEESECAKE

Base

• 250gm packet digestive biscuits
• 100gm butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Filling

• 12-15 feijoas (800gm)
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 500gm cream cheese, softened
• 250gm sour cream
• 1 tablespoon gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
• 375g can caramel sweetened condensed milk

Topping

• 4 feijoas, peeled and sliced into rounds
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

1. To make the base, grease a 20cm loose-bottomed springform tin or pie dish and line sides with baking paper.Crush biscuits in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, or a food processor. Add melted butter and ginger, and combine.Turn mixture into baking dish and line the bottom and sides, pressing down with the back of a wooden spoon. Chill in the fridge while preparing the filling.
2. To make the filling, cook peeled and sliced feijoas with sugar and 1/3 cup of water for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Drain and reserved liquid.Let the fruit cool.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth and creamy. Gradually add dissolved gelatine and icing sugar. Fold in condensed milk, then add the cooled fruit. Mix until just combined and pour on to the chilled base. Place in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. To make the topping, dip feijoa slices into lemon juice. In a small saucepan heat the reserved liquid from the cooked feijoas. Dip feijoa slices into this hot sugar liquid, then cook quickly, for 20-30 seconds.Removed and drain on baking paper. Continue to cook the sugar liquid down until reduced by half. Arrange fruit slices on top of the cheesecake and drizzle sugar syrup over each wedge to serve.