Kumara Cheesecake

I received a gift of kumara, red, orange, gold, and small (thank you #teamkumara) So far I made soup, roasted them, made some Japanese style sweet potato cakes, and then this cheesecake, which is my own recipes, published a few years ago in a magazine here in New Zealand.

Ingredients

400 g kumara (red or yellow)

1 lemon

150 g sugar

250 g cream cheese

3 eggs

Icing sugar to dust

Fruit to serve

Serves 8–10 for dessert, or even more for coffee if you cut it in little squares 

Wash and boil the kumara until soft (check with a fork), then peel while still warm. Grate all the zest from the lemon and put aside. Extract all the lemon juice, discarding pips. Place the kumara, lemon juice and sugar in the food processor and reduce to a smooth paste. 

Add the cream cheese and process again. When the mixture is smooth add the eggs, one by one, while the food processor is on low. Finally fold in the lemon peels. 

Line a baking tin with baking paper. Pour the mixture in and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for approximately 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges start to detach from the sides of the tin. Let the cheesecake cool down completely before cutting and moving it into a serving plate. Store in the fridge (it taste better cold, and one day after).

 This yummy cheesecake has no pastry or biscuit base, making it an ideal dessert or tea time treat for those avoiding wheat products.

Kumara also goes well with orange, so you can substitute the lemon with the zest and juice of an orange.

 Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©