Laura’s Vanilla Cheesecakes with Passionfruit Curd

Method

Step 1
Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/Gas 5.

Step 2
Make the base. Place the flour, salt, oats and sugar in a mixing bowl and add 25g of the butter. Rub the mixture together with your fingertips until it forms fine crumbs. Then, stir in the honey. Spread the mixture onto the lined baking tray and bake for 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

Step 3
Remove the base mixture from the oven and leave it to cool. Leave the oven on, but reduce the temperature to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.

Step 4
Pulse the base in a food processor to break up any clumps. Melt remaining 50g of butter in a microwave, then add this to the crumble. Combine the mixture with a spoon until you get a wet-sand consistency.

Step 5
Divide the mixture equally between each hole in the silicone mould. Press down to compact the base with the end of a rolling pin, then place in the freezer to chill for 5 minutes, while you make the filling.

Step 6
Place the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla essence in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the whole egg and the egg yolk and whisk for 1 minute, until smooth. Add the double cream and whisk for 1 minute, until it thickens.

Step 7
Spoon the filling over the cheesecake bases. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until the cheesecakes just start to brown around the edges and have a slight wobble in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Step 8
Make the passionfruit curd. Place the gelatine in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of cold water and leave to soften.

Step 9
Cut the passionfruits in half and scoop the seeds into a sieve. Press the pulp to extract the juice – you’ll need 125ml. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the seeds and discard the rest.

Step 10
Place the juice in a small saucepan and whisk in the whole egg and egg yolk and the caster sugar. Place over a low heat and stir continuously for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens to just coat the back of a wooden spoon. (Do not cook too quickly or allow the mixture to boil or you will scramble the egg.)

Step 11
Remove the gelatine from the water and shake off the excess, then add the gelatine to the curd, remove from the heat and whisk in the cold butter, a cube at a time. Leave to cool completely.

Step 12
When you’re ready to serve, place the cheesecakes in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until they are just firm enough to cleanly push up and out of the moulds. Spread a little soured cream on top, then spoon over equal amount of the passionfruit curd. Top each cheesecake with a few passionfruit seeds, the grated orange zest, the chopped mango and a tiny mint sprig. Serve chilled.