Cheesecake Tart With Tropical Fruits Recipes

CONTEST-WINNING TROPICAL CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine coconut and almonds; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. , In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add cornstarch and beat well. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Add sour cream, lemon juice and extract; beat just until blended. Pour over crust. , Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. , In a small saucepan, melt preserves, stirring to break up any apricot pieces. Arrange pineapple and kiwi on top of cheesecake. Brush preserves over fruit and on sides of cheese cake. Press coconut onto the sides of the cheesecake. Chill until serving.

CHEESECAKE TART WITH BERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Make the crust: Pulse the flour, pecans, sugar and salt in a food processor until the pecans are finely ground. Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice-cold water and pulse until the dough just comes together.
• Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a disk, wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Put the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust begin turning golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and continue baking until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Whisk 1 cup milk, the egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Heat the remaining 2/3 cup milk and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. While whisking, slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble and is very thick, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Pour into the cooled crust and refrigerate until set, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Make the topping: Toss the berries, sugar and sherry in a bowl and let sit at room temperature, 20 minutes. Top the tart with the berries.

TROPICAL CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line the base and sides of a 20 x 30cm rectangular tin with baking parchment. Put the biscuits into a large food bag and bash with something heavy like a rolling pin, alternatively blitz in a food processor. Put the biscuit crumbs into a large bowl and pour over the melted butter, stir well to combine then tip into your prepared tin. Press the mixture down well with the back of a spoon to form a compressed layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins. Take it out of the oven to cool and turn the oven down to 120C/100C fan/gas ½.
• In another large bowl whisk together the remaining cheesecake ingredients until smooth, you can do this with electric beaters or with a balloon whisk. Pour onto the biscuit base then scatter over the mango pieces here and there, pushing some of them into the cheesecake and letting others sit proud on the surface. Bake for 1hr then prop the oven door open and leave to cool for a further 30 mins. Once cold, chill the whole cheesecake in the fridge overnight.
• When you're ready to serve, push the passion fruit flesh through a sieve to get rid of the seeds then mix the resulting pulp with the lemon curd. Drizzle the mixture over the cheesecake and decorate with fresh mango, pineapple and mint leaves.

CHEESECAKE FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Unfold crust on work surface. Press out fold lines; if crust cracks, press together to seal. Rub crust with flour. Arrange crust, floured side down, in 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold excess pastry in, forming double-thick sides. Bake until brown, about 15 minutes (crust may crack in places). Cool.
• Meanwhile, using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, 2 tablespoons amaretto, and almond and vanilla extracts in large bowl until blended and smooth. Spread cheese mixture in prepared crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Mound blueberries in center of tart. Arrange nectarine slices in ring around berries. Place raspberries at outside edge. Stir apricot preserves in small saucepan over low heat until melted. Mix in remaining 1 tablespoon amaretto. Brush glaze over fruit topping. Refrigerate up to 2 hours.