Plum crumble is one of my favourite desserts. My mum makes the best crumble and we always finish the whole dish whenever she makes it. This cheesecake is light and tangy – bursting with the flavours of the plum purée. With crumble on the base and on top of the cheesecake and cinnamon-roasted plums, this is a great summer dessert to serve when plums are in season.
FOR THE TOPPING
800 g/1¾ lbs. red plums
50 g/¼ cup caster/white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
FOR THE CRUMBLE
160 g/1½ sticks butter
200 g/1½ cups self-raising flour
100 g/½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
FOR THE FILLING
5 sheets leaf gelatine
300 g/1⅓ cups cream cheese
250 g/generous 1 cup ricotta
100 g/½ cup caster/white sugar
250 ml/1 cup double/heavy cream
a 23-cm/9-inch round springform cake pan, greased and lined
SERVES 12
Begin by preparing the plum topping. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones/pits. Place the plums cut side down in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon and add 100 ml/⅓ cup water to the pan. Bake the plums in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until soft, then set aside to cool. Reserve 12 baked plum halves and the baking juice from the pan for the topping and purée the remaining plums in a food processor. (Leave the oven on for cooking the crumble.)
Prepare the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon and spread out over a large baking sheet. Bake for 10–15 minutes until the crumble is golden brown. Leave aside to cool then break the crumble into small pieces and sprinkle two thirds of the crumble over the base of the prepared cake pan.
For the filling, soak the gelatine leaves in water until they are soft.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, ricotta and sugar until smooth.
Put the cream in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat gently. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and stir them into the warm cream until the gelatine has dissolved. Carefully add the gelatine cream to the cream cheese mixture, passing it through a sieve/strainer as you go to remove any gelatine pieces that have not dissolved. Beat the mixture until it is smooth and slightly thick, then stir in the plum purée. Pour the mixture over the crumble base and chill in the refrigerator for 3–4 hours or overnight until set.
To serve, place the reserved 12 plum halves on top of the cheesecake and drizzle over the reserved plum juice. Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the cheesecake to serve.