Ukrainian cheesecake

I have no idea why this is called a Ukrainian Cheesecake, that was the name I wrote when I recorded this recipe over twenty five years ago.  Did they have a lot of pineapples in the Ukraine then?  Imported from Cuba maybe?  Whatever, this is another lovely refreshing dessert for this hot weather we're enjoying and I made this over the weekend for a lunch party along with the S'mores Ice Cream Cake.  It is very refreshing with a light mousse like texture but it can be a devil to get off the base of the tin.  I have a glass bottomed tin that I use for this type of dessert.  The addition of cinnamon to the biscuit base makes a nice change, I imagine it would also work well if you did it with ginger biscuits instead of digestives. 

UKRAINIAN CHEESECAKE

 

• 4oz biscuit crumb, digestive or similar
• 2oz melted butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• a can of crushed pineapple, drained
• 4oz sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 3 sheets of gelatine
• 250g pot of mascarpone
• 200g Philadelphia or similar
• 3 egg whites, whipped till stiff
• 1 tsp lemon rind, grated
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 pint of whipping cream, whipped

Mix the crumbs with the butter, cinnamon and tbsp. of sugar in a pan and use to line a spring form tin.  I used a 7.5" one, you can use larger for a lower cake but you may want to increase your base ingredients accordingly.
In a glass bowl over a pan of hot water ( or a double boiler ) mix the rest of the sugar, salt, 5 fl oz of the pineapple juice and the egg yolks.  Cook stirring constantly till smooth and thickened
Place the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water for five minutes then remove and ring out.  add them to the hot mixture and stir well to dissolve. 
Chill the mixture till it begins to set around the edge.
In a large bowl whip together the cheeses till smooth and combined.  Add the pineapple and lemon.
Fold in the egg whites and cream.  At this stage it will taste bland and uninteresting.
Transform it by adding the gelatine and sugar mix and folding in well.
Pour into the tin and smooth the top then chill for 10-12 hours.