Rosie Makes: Hot Cross Bun Cheesecakes

Happy Easter! I had lots of lovely messages about my hot cross bun recipe last week and quite a few of you tried them after my Instagram #arosiekitchen bakealong. However, I was also conscious that you might not have yeast in your cupboard, and I wanted to make sure this year’s Easter celebratory bake was something everyone could try. These hot cross bun cheesecakes are pretty forgiving: they could be made with whatever cream cheese you have, or ricotta, or you could just whip cream with the other ingredients and simply leave them to chill and set in the fridge instead. You could even omit the eggs! Either way you will have the taste of traditional Easter spice and citrus in cheesecake form – delicious. Be sure to take a wee look back in my Easter recipe archive to see some other seasonal recipes you can make too!  To make the cheesecake, you will need:

150g ginger biscuits
25g sultanas
Zest of one clementine/ a small orange or 25g mixed peel
50g butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
For the cheesecake filling:
280g cream cheese
25g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
100g mascarpone
2 eggs, lightly beaten
For the decoration:
150g icing sugar
Juice of 1/2 an orange.

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ Gas 4. Butter 6 x 150ml ramekins. Place the ginger biscuits in a food processor and blitz until chopped into very small pieces then add the sultanas and zest or mixed peel and blitz again once or twice to combine. Otherwise, you could use a bag and a rolling pin, and cut the sultanas really wee like I did. Melt the butter and mix in the cinnamon followed by the biscuit mixture.

Divide equally between the ramekins, so the base of each is covered with a layer about 1cm thick. Press down a little with the back of a teaspoon then bake them on a tray in the oven for 10 mins until crisp and golden. Leave to cool, then turn oven down to 150C/130C fan /Gas 2.

Whisk together all the cheesecake filling ingredients until smooth.

Place the ramekins on a baking tray and pour some mixture into each one, filling to about 1cm below the rim. Carefully slide them into the oven and cook for 25-30 mins until just set. The mixture should still be ever so slightly wobbly when gently tapped. Don’t worry if it dips a little or cracks.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before covering with cling film and putting in the fridge to set. You can make to this point up to 2 days ahead.

When ready to serve, loosen the cheesecakes by running a small knife around the edge of the cheesecakes, then turn them out so that the biscuit layer is facing upwards. Make a stiff icing with the icing sugar and juice and pipe crosses on the top of the cheesecakes. Decorate with chocolate eggs!

I’ll be sharing how I styled my Easter table on Instagram stories today. In the meantime, here’s my list of prop credits: H&M tablecloth and napkins, Liberty fabric DIY runner, green and white plates previously gifted by Denby, KC Hossack pottery pinch pots, pink vintage and Merci plates.

Gold and white Gisela Graham eggs, vintage painted wooden eggs, Pops & Piaf brass bunnies, Travelling Basket miniature basket, pink Norden candles in vintage candle holders, Pyrus flowers.

Shelfie: vintage books and jar, Easter wreath made by me using Gisela Graham eggs, Pops & Piaf hand painted eggs on the Easter tree.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.