If someone told me fifteen years ago that I'd develop a recipe including beets, I would probably have called them crazy. I didn't like this vegetable at all, and every time my mother told me to try it at least once, I refused categorically. Only when I left home for the South of France, and a friend cooked a beet soup (because I liked the pink color so much) I started appreciating its flavour. I think this is mostly due because it weren't the store bought cooked ones, but she roasted the fresh beets before blending them into soup. Anyways, from that moment on, I started to test several recipes ranging from roasted beetroot fries to beetroot curry or bourguignon. The latest favourite beet thing is the juice. Mixed with ginger and apples it gives you such a great boost.
When travelling over the last few years, I also discovered savoury cheesecakes. Most of them included goat cheese, which I don't like so much. And that's when I thought that I should make my own recipe. The first one I made was a salmon cheesecake, which was not bad but still needs some fine-tuning. Then I thought about a juicier one, and that's when the base of this very cheesecake was build. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do.
For one cheesecake you need:
100g butter
200g crackers
3cm fresh ginger
3gelatine sheets
200g cooked beets
450g cream cheese
150ml liquid cream
pink radish sprouts
salt & pepper
First soften the gelatine sheets in a little cold water.
To prepare the base, melt the butter in a saucepan. Put the crackers into your food processor and blitz into chunky crumbs. In a bowl, combine the butter and crackers, then grate 1cm of fresh peeled ginger into it.
Line a 22cm springform with baking paper, then put the cracker crumbs into it and press to form an even base. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, you can start preparing the topping. Grate the remaining 2cm of fresh ginger and blend the cooked beetroot. In a large bowl whisk together the beets, ginger and cream cheese until well combined.
Bring the liquid cream to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in the gelatine. Before adding the gelatine, make sure to squeeze out all the water. Pour the cream on the cream cheese and mix again.
Now remove the base from the refrigerator and top the cracker crumbs with the beetroot cream cheese. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Before serving the cake, remove from the springform and put onto a serving plate. I chose to place pink radish sprouts onto the cake, to give it a little extra fresh kick.
Enjoy!!!
Are you planning on making this recipe? Or have you already tried it?
Then show me your creations on Instagram: @passionmeetscreativity I'm looking forward to your comments & suggestions :)