No-bake plum cheesecake

This no-bake plum cheesecake is a wonderfully light and elegant dessert topped with a luscious roasted plum sauce. The creamy cheesecake filling is delicately flavoured with orange zest, set on a gingery digestive biscuit base and finished with a rich sauce made from roasted plums, vanilla and fresh orange juice. It’s a beautiful dessert for a late summer or early autumn afternoon.

Ingredients for the biscuit base:

• 160 g digestive biscuits
• 40 g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Place the biscuits, ginger and melted butter into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles wet sand. Alternatively, crush the biscuits in a sturdy freezer bag using a rolling pin, then mix with the melted butter and ginger.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the base of the tin and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:

• 250 ml Greek yoghurt, at room temperature
• 250 g mascarpone, at room temperature
• ½ cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• finely grated zest of 1 small orange
• 250 ml double cream, chilled
• 10 g powdered gelatine (3½ teaspoons) + 50 ml cold water

Place the Greek yoghurt, mascarpone, icing sugar, vanilla and orange zest into the bowl of a mixer. Beat until smooth and creamy.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water and leave for 10 minutes to bloom. Gently heat until dissolved, either in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Do not allow it to boil. Leave to cool slightly. Stir a spoonful of the cheesecake mixture into the warm gelatine, then gradually mix in another two spoonfuls until smooth and lump-free. Pour the tempered gelatine into the cheesecake mixture and mix immediately until fully combined. In a separate bowl, whip the chilled double cream until stiff peaks form. Fold it gently into the cheesecake mixture in two additions.

Spread the filling over the chilled biscuit base and smooth the top. Refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.

Ingredients for the roasted plum sauce:

• 300 g plums (the colour of the plums will determine the colour of the sauce)
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• freshly squeezed juice of ½ an orange

Stone and halve the plums. Place them in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the sugar (reduce or omit it if the plums are very sweet), then add the vanilla and orange juice.

Bake at 190°C for 25–30 minutes. Transfer the roasted plums to a tall jug and blend until smooth. Pass the purée through a fine sieve to remove the skins, then leave the sauce to cool completely.

Remove the chilled cheesecake from the fridge and spread the plum sauce evenly over the top. Serve any remaining sauce alongside the cheesecake.

Enjoy!