How to make: Lemon and garden mint cheesecake

The 19th century Ashbourne pub, which is also a Bib Gourmand holder, has been on the Top 50 Gastropub's List​ since 2021 and currently sits at number 48​.

Below, head chef Scott Law shares a recipe for the Duncombe Arms lemon and garden mint cheesecake.​ 

Law said: "Our kitchen garden is home to a thriving mint patch, with an array of varieties which we pick fresh for bar cocktails, or soothing mint teas to round off a meal.

"I was really keen to try something new that challenged mint’s traditional culinary role. Normally, mint shines in a sauce for lamb or a flavouring in winter soups - so I wanted to use it in a dessert where its delicate flavour could be properly showcased - and a set cheesecake is perfect year-round, and always a crowd pleaser".  

The Top 50 Gastropub​ recommended serving the "delicious" cheesecake with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a teaspoon of lemon curd, but added some Chantilly cream or lemon sorbet would also work.

Lemon and garden mint cheesecake: ​​

Ingredients: ​

Lemon and mint insert​

• 3 lemons
• 5 segmented lemons, cut into teardrops
• 10g freshly picked mint
• 60g caster sugar

Biscuit base​

• 180g digestive biscuits
• 75g unsalted butter

Cheese filling​

• 800g cream cheese
• 160g caster sugar
• 200g double cream
• 3 ½ leaves of gelatine
• 2.5g vanilla extract
• Glaze (optional)​
• 106g glucose
• 106g water
• 59g caster sugar
• 9g gelatine
• 73g double cream
• 106g white chocolate
• Yellow food colouring

To serve​

• Vanilla ice cream
• Lemon gel
• Lemon curd
• Fresh mint tips and lemon balm

Method: ​

For the insert​

• Begin by cutting five lemons in half, remove all the seeds and boil in water for 45 minutes
• Blend the mixture with sugar until smooth then add the freshly picked mint and three fresh lemons
• Place the finished mixture into the insert silicone mould and leave to freeze
• For the biscuit base:
• Use a food processor to blend the biscuits until fine then transfer to a mixing bowl and mix with the melted butter
• Once fully combined, put the mixture on a piece of grease-proof paper and flatten out until of even thickness
• Use a 60 cm cutter to cut out 12 individual biscuit bases and leave in the fridge to chill

For the Cheesecake filling​

• Place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and half of the cream in a mixer with paddle attachments and mix till smooth and set aside
• Soak your gelatine leaves in cold water for 5-10 minutes, or until soft, then remove from the bowl and gently squeeze out the excess liquid
• Warm up the remaining 100g of cream and dissolve the soaked gelatine in
• Add this mixture into the cheese mix, stirring gently to make sure it is fully combined
• Finally, carefully add all the filling into a piping bag and evenly pipe into the white entremet moulds.
• Remove the lemon inserts from the freezer and press into the mixture so that each mould contains one lemon insert
• Smooth the top and freeze again

For the glaze​

• Place glucose, water and caster sugar in a pot and carefully heat the mixture up to 103℃, then remove from the heat
• In a separate bowl soak your gelatine as before and, when ready, dissolve into a bowl of warm cream
• Once all the gelatine has dissolved, add the mixture into the sugar syrup and stir
• Pour this over the chocolate, making sure all of it has dissolved before carefully adding the food colouring drop-by-drop until it reaches your desired shade of yellow

To assemble​

• The glaze must be at 30℃ and the cheesecakes must be frozen solid, and out of their moulds
• Stick a toothpick into the middle of a frozen cheesecake filling, dip carefully into the glaze and hold it above the glaze to allow any excess to drip off
• Scrape the bottom of the glazed filling on the edge of a container and place straight onto a biscuit base disc
• Remove the toothpick to ensure that any hole is covered by the glaze
• When you’re ready to serve, dot a small amount of lemon gel on a plate and carefully place the glazed cheesecakes on top
• Dot another bit of lemon gel on the top and garnish with the lemon balm and mint tips

• To take part in The Morning Advertiser's Dish Deconstructed series please contact rebecca.weller@wrbm.com​​. See the previous Dish Deconstructed ​​here​​.​​