June 5, 2021 • 4 mins
This dessert celebrates mandarins and will make you feel better about the weather getting cool! Instead of the usual biscuit base I use a circle of crisply-baked sweet short pastry – try it, you’ll like it!
1 sheet sweet short pastry
2 tsp caster sugar
500g cream cheese
¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 heaped tbsp plain flour (gluten free is fine)
3 large eggs
¼ cup cream
2 tbsps brandy
Zest from 4 mandarins + juice from 2
½ cup sultanas
Topping
1-2 mandarins, peeled and thinly sliced to garnish
Olive oil for brushing
1/3 cup sugar
Juice from remaining 2 mandarins
Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 20cm spring form tin.
Lightly flour and roll pastry sheet to slightly larger than it comes. Sprinkle with first measure of caster sugar and sandwich between baking paper and 2 oven trays. Bake until crisp – about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool then cut into a circle to fit base of tin.
Make the filling by beating cream cheese until smooth. Add sugars, flour and eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Pour in cream, brandy and mandarin juice and beat again until combined. Stir in zest and sultanas. Scrape into tin and smooth top.
Reduce oven temperature to 150C and bake for 45 minutes or until it has a touch of colourand wobbles only in the very centre. This will firm on cooling. Leave to cool completely in the oven then chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Make topping: brush mandarin slices with olive oil and brown each in a small pan. Remove and cool. Add sugar and juice to pan and simmer until sugar dissolves and becomes syrupy. Cool.
Serve cheese cake with grilled mandarin and syrup.
Nici’s note:
To get pastry to remain so crispy and flat, cook it sandwiched between two oven trays. Weigh the top one down if you need to.
1 sheet sweet short pastry
2 tsp caster sugar
500g cream cheese
¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsps brown sugar
1 heaped tbsp plain flour (gluten free is fine)
3 large eggs
¼ cup cream
2 tbsps brandy
Zest from 4 mandarins + juice from 2
½ cup sultanas
Topping
1-2 mandarins, peeled and thinly sliced to garnish
Olive oil for brushing
1/3 cup sugar
Juice from remaining 2 mandarins
Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 20cm spring form tin.
Lightly flour and roll pastry sheet to slightly larger than it comes. Sprinkle with first measure of caster sugar and sandwich between baking paper and 2 oven trays. Bake until crisp – about 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool then cut into a circle to fit base of tin.
Make the filling by beating cream cheese until smooth. Add sugars, flour and eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Pour in cream, brandy and mandarin juice and beat again until combined. Stir in zest and sultanas. Scrape into tin and smooth top.
Reduce oven temperature to 150C and bake for 45 minutes or until it has a touch of colourand wobbles only in the very centre. This will firm on cooling. Leave to cool completely in the oven then chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Make topping: brush mandarin slices with olive oil and brown each in a small pan. Remove and cool. Add sugar and juice to pan and simmer until sugar dissolves and becomes syrupy. Cool.
Serve cheese cake with grilled mandarin and syrup.
Nici’s note:
To get pastry to remain so crispy and flat, cook it sandwiched between two oven trays. Weigh the top one down if you need to.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.