Warndu Mai’s finger lime and lemon myrtle cheesecake recipe.

The ideal way to balance its creamy denseness is with citrus flavours – and what could be better than native ingredients?

As the filling contains no gelatine, this cheesecake has a very soft set; if you prefer a firmer set, use 400g of cream cheese and 150ml of cream. The flavour combinations can very easily be played with. The base is crumbly so serve on the tin base or add more butter to the biscuit base.

Finger lime and lemon myrtle cheesecake

Prep 20 minutes
Fridge 3 hours
Serves 8

For the base

• 100g ginger nut biscuits
• 150g butternut snap cookies
• 50g desert limes, finely diced, or the zest of 1 finger lime
• 1 tsp ground lemon myrtle
• 80g butter, melted

For the topping

• 340g cream cheese, softened
• 200ml cream (thickened or pure)
• ½ tbsp roasted ground wattleseed
• 2 finger limes, caviar only, or 1 tsp dried
• 115g raw caster sugar
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon

Warndu Mai's saltbush soda bread and Davidson’s plum jam recipes

For decoration

• Freeze-dried finger limes
• Crushed dried finger lime
• Lightly grease a 23cm springform tin.

To make the base

1. Crush the biscuits; either put them in a sealable bag and bash with a rolling pin, or use a mortar and pestle. I like chunky crumbs, but you can blitz them in a food processor if you prefer finer crumbs. Mix the finely diced lime or zest and lemon myrtle through the crumbs.

2. Melt the butter and mix it into the crumbs. Press the crumb mixture firmly into the base of the tin with your fingers. Put the tin in the fridge to set while you make the topping.

To make the topping

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer just to loosen it, until it is the consistency of thickened cream. This should take no longer than 45–60 seconds.

2. In a separate bowl, whip the cream. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese. Add the wattleseed, finger lime caviar, sugar, and lemon juice and zest, and mix until combined.

3. Spread the topping over the base using a spatula or knife. Put the cheesecake in the fridge to set for 3 hours. Decorate with freeze-dried finger lime and crushed dried finger lime.

Check our resources guide for some useful places to buy from, ask your local supermarket to stock some, forage for a little (respectfully) and, better yet, grow a little too. Whether it’s on a balcony or in a backyard, growing herbs and greens is easier than you think.

• This is an edited extract from Warndu Mai (Good Food) by Rebecca Sullivan and Damien Coulthard (Hachette Australia, $45).

 

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