Upside-Down Rhubarb Cheesecake

Layers of fresh or frozen rhubarb and cheesecake, that luscious combination of rhubarb-sour and cheesecake-creamy. Make it in a simple pie plate or in cute mini ramekins. Either way, it's spring! Time to break out the rhubarb!

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

Babying the Rhubarb

We’re babying a tiny rhubarb plant, a much-prized Canadian Red transported last summer from Minnesota-black dirt. It barely survived last year's hotter’n’hades Missouri summer but is so small, even an Iowa boy weeding the garden didn’t recognize the small heart-shaped leaves on graceful red stalks.

So until Missouri rhubarb shows up in the markets, I’m using up last year’s frozen rhubarb, here with a recipe I’ve had my eye on for more than a year. Usually those recipes just never get made – I am so glad this one finally did!

The recipe is as much deconstructed cheesecake as it is upside down cheesecake. There are two barely sweet layers, one of fruit and another of cheesecake dusted with ginger-cookie crumbs.

It’s one of those recipes whose bones are so good, it’s easily adaptable. So far, I’ve made it twice, first with rhubarb and orange zest, then again with a mix of frozen blueberries and raspberries with lemon zest.

For fruit, I can imagine blackberries, chunks of mango, even fresh pineapple and coconut. In winter, apple mixed with cranberry would be great. Instead of citrus zest, how about almond extract or vanilla or a dry sherry?

Mini Upside-Down Rhubarb Cheesecakes

My only question is, how many does this recipe serve?

BAKED in a PIE PLATE The first cheesecake filled a pie plate perfectly, plenty for serving six.

BAKED in RAMEKINS The second cheesecake, I used more fruit (about a pound and a half) and was surprised to fill a dozen one-cup ramekins. The cheesecake layer was thinner but the mixture was still delicious – and plenty. The small ramekins baked in 30 minutes.

Do you love small ramekins too? This recipe fills twelve one-cup ramekins, perfect for serving a crowd and yes, portion control.

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UPSIDE DOWN RHUBARB CHEESECAKE RECIPE

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 2 hours
Serves 6 or 12

RHUBARB LAYER
• 1 pound (450g) rhubarb, fresh or frozen, cut in small pieces
• 1 tablespoon water (omit for frozen rhubarb)
• 3 tablespoons (38g) sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

CHEESECAKE LAYER
• 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese
• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
• Zest of an orange or lemon or lime
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons (25g) sour cream

TOPPING
• About 1 cup ground ginger snap cookies (see TIPS)

Heat oven to 325F/160C.

RHUBARB In a large saucepan, cook rhubarb, water and sugar on medium heat until rhubarb softens but pieces still remain intact. Sprinkle cornstarch over top, gently stir into rhubarb and let simmer for a minute or two. Let cool.

CHEESECAKE In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch and orange zest until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in sour cream.

[To prep ahead, stop here and refrigerate the two mixtures separately. Grind the ginger snap cookies.]

COMBINE Pour rhubarb into a pie plate or equivalent size baking dish. Spread cheesecake mixture over the top, sealing the edges. Sprinkle cookie crumbs over top.

BAKE Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until the center is barely set. Let cool for up to 30 minutes, serve warm.

TO BAKE AHEAD If you like, make ahead of time and then rewarm. Just bake and cool, then cover with foil and refrigerate, then rewarm in a 180F/80C oven.

ALANNA’s TIPS For a deep-dish pie plate or for a thicker layer of cream cheese, double the recipe. Full-fat cream cheese and lower-fat Neufchatel work equally well although the full-fat version is slightly creamier. For good or for ill, I have fallen in love with the 365 Brand ginger snap cookies from Whole Foods. They are crisp, almost hard, and sharp with ginger. Weight Watchers? Very point friendly!

NUTRITION INFORMATION
With Full-Fat Cream Cheese Per 12/6 Servings: 165/330 Calories; 8/17g Tot Fat; 4/9g Sat Fat; 39/78mg Cholesterol; 107/214mg Sodium; 20/39g Carb; 1g Fiber; 12/25g Sugar; 3/5g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 4/8 & PointsPlus 4/9 & SmartPoints 7/15 & Freestyle 7/15

With Low-Fat Cream Cheese Per 12/6 Servings: 148/296 Calories; 6/13g Tot Fat; 3/7g Sat Fat; 32/65mg Cholesterol; 127/254mg Sodium; 19/39g Carb; 1g Fiber; 12/25g Sugar; 3/6g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 3/7 & PointsPlus 4/8 & SmartPoints 7/13 & Freestyle 7/13

This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in portion size and increasing the proportion of fruit:cheesecake.

Adapted from Baked Upside-Down Cheesecake.

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Seasonal Cooking: This Same Week, Across the Years

Tender Pork Tenderloin Honey Mustard Chicken Moroccan Chicken Sole with Mushrooms & Onions Mango Chicken Salad Mango Lassi Red Quinoa Salad Your Way Mojito Strawberries Sunshine Orange Muffins Upside-Down Rhubarb Cheesecake

This Week, Elsewhere

Tagliatella Carbonara from Mia Sorella
~ more St. Louis Restaurant Recipes ~
My Column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

How to Cook Eggs in a Coffee Cup in the Microwave
~ more Recent Recipes ~
A Veggie Venture

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More Rhubarb Recipes

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more rhubarb recipes ~

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Spring's Favorite Fruit, Strawberries!

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more strawberry recipes ~

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ rhubarb recipes ~
~ cream cheese recipes ~
~ sour cream recipes ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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