Christmas

Festive cheesecake recipe with caramelised clementines and dipped peel

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Bring a showstopper to your Christmas feast with our special festive cheesecake recipe. Made with caramelised clementines, dipped peel and just a touch of chocolate (it is Christmas after all), it’s sure to be something of a crowd pleaser.

While sweet treats might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of wellbeing, making our own at home ensures we know exactly what we’re eating, without any added hidden nasties.

The best thing about this cheesecake recipe (apart from the tempting flavours) is that it’s made in advance. We recommend making a day ahead and keeping covered in the fridge. You can also save time by making the dipped peel topping up to a week before. Less time spent in the kitchen means more time with your loved ones, making the most of the festivities. A wellbeing win!

For an extra special sprinkle of festive fun, decorate with edible glitter and a dusting of grated chocolate orange. Plus, is any cheesecake complete without a drizzle of double cream? Opt for cream from grass-fed cows to elevate the nutritional content, including healthy fats and antioxidants.

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Ingredients

    For the base

    • 200g ginger biscuits
    • 100g butter

    For the filling

    • 400g cream cheese
    • 100g icing sugar
    • 2 clementines, juice and zest

    For the glaze

    • 4 leaves of gelatine
    • 70g caster sugar
    • 160ml water
    • 6 clementines, juice and zest

    For the dipped peel (make up to a week in advance and store in an airtight container)

    • Peel from two clementines
    • 220g coconut sugar
    • 200ml water
    • 100g 80% dark chocolate

    For the caramelised clementines

    • 2 clementines, sliced into discs
    • 4 tbsp caster sugar
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 2 tsp water

    To decorate

    • Gold or silver edible glitter
    • 1 bar of chocolate orange

    Method

    1. Blitz the biscuits to a fine crumb in a food processor (or put them in a food bag and crush with a rolling pin).
    2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and mix with the biscuit crumbs. Press into the base of a greased 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Cover and chill in the fridge for half an hour.
    3. Add the cream cheese, icing sugar, zest and juice to a bowl and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth. Spoon onto the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula. Put the cheesecake into the fridge while you make the glaze.
    4. Soak the gelatine in cold water. Meanwhile, add the sugar, water, and juice and zest of the clementines to a small saucepan
      and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool for a minute.
    5. Drain and squeeze the gelatine to remove excess water and add the leaves to the saucepan. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved and leave to cool. When cool, strain and pour over the cheesecake, return it to the fridge and leave to set overnight.
    6. For the dipped peel, cut the reserved peel into thick strips and add to a saucepan of 200ml simmering water and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the peel and set aside to cool.
    7. Add 200g of the coconut sugar to the water in the saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add the peel and cook for another 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan, then remove and lay out on a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray. Cook in the oven at 80°C for about an hour until dried and toss in the remaining coconut sugar.
    8. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan with a couple of centimetres of simmering water. Dip the ends of each peel piece in the chocolate, then put on a wire baking rack to set.
    9. The next day, make the caramelised clementines by heating the sugar in a sauté pan with the butter and water until it’s dissolved and starting to colour. Add the clementine segments and cook gently until caramelising, then flip over and do the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool on a rack. If you have any melted chocolate left over, warm until melted again and drizzle over the clementine circles.
    10. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge just before serving, decorate with the caramelised clementine segments, candied peel, glitter and grate over the chocolate orange or, using a vegetable peeler, create shavings to scatter over.