What Annabel Cooks

So I recently had a temper tantrum. I felt like cooking something based on 2 recipes I found in MiNDFOOD​ magazine but needed to adapt it for gluten free and merge the recipes. It took me hours and I didn’t think it was going to work and got so frustrated, that whilst it was in the oven (and the mousse I was making was in the fridge) that I screwed up the pages I’d torn out of the magazine and threw them away!

And then the recipe worked. 😩 Well, 1 part worked better than another part (let’s just say gelatine sheets and I need more practise). Actually the part that worked REALLY worked!

ARGH I’d thrown out the recipe and it was quite time consuming so I couldn’t really remember it.

Then the other night I found a bit of left over ‘base’ from the recipe and re-purposed it into a super delicious apple tart thing (stay tuned for another post on that one). This sent Leigh and I pouring over the Mindfood website trying to find it. Nothing. Lost. The dessert was PERFECT so the recipe had to be found. There’s nothing like persistence and the next day I found it! So here is the original recipe – Ricotta Torte with marsala soaked fruits. This recipe is certainly not gluten free, low in sugar or any of the usual things I like to make! Hence the adaptation. I might try and do a DF base another time too.

Here is my slightly healthier version:

Gluten Free Baked Cheesecake

You will need a 23cm springform tin for this recipe.

Base – Ingredients:

• 125g butter, softened
• ⅓ cup caster sugar
• 2½ cups almond meal or other nut meal – I used a combination of almonds and walnuts
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg, plus extra egg yolk
• ⅓ cup pure cream

Base – Directions:

1. Place butter, sugar, nut meal and baking powder in a food processor/Thermomix. Pulse until mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and cream, then add to mixture with processor running.
3. When mixture forms clumps, tip into a large bowl and form a ball. The mixture for me was still a little ‘wet’ which I’m sure is because regular flour is more absorbent.
4. Divide into 2 and press into disc shapes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
5. Preheat oven to 190C.
6. Take first disc out and roll it out with a rolling pin under plastic or baking paper – it’s a little sticky. Then place in base of well greased 23cm springform tin and press into place. Take the 2nd disc and repeat but use this to press onto the sides of the tin, making sure the base and the sides are well joined. 

Filling – Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, plus extra egg yolk
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 375g full-fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 500g full-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp concentrated vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup pure cream
• 6-8 drops doTERRA lemon essential oil (optional)
• 1-2 drops doTERRA cinnamon essential oil (optional)

Filling – Directions:

1. Place eggs and maple syrup in a bowl of an electric mixer or in your Thermomix. Beat until pale and creamy.
2. Place remaining ingredients into large bowl of and beat with electric mixer/in Thermomix until nearly smooth. Add egg mixture. Beat until smooth.
3. Spoon into prepared base. The base should sit a little ‘above’ the line of the filling.

4. Bake in oven at 190C for 25 minutes, then reduce temperature to 160°C. Cook for a further 30 minutes, or until golden and filling is set. If the filling isn’t set, reduce to 140C and bake for another 10-15 mins. You don’t want the pastry to burn but you want the filling to set!

5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove side of pan, carefully!

6. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

Serve with berries of your choice!

You’ll see that I had my decoration design and then Charlie, my 9yr came along with his view on how it should be decorated, his style won out and as you can see, he is far more creative.