Coconut Mint Rhubarb Swirl Cheesecake

Raise your hand if you look forward to rhubarb season every year.  If you have never tasted rhubarb anything, you are in for a treat. 

I recently made a classic strawberry rhubarb pie for a United Nations spouse event we hosted at our home in Pennsylvania. I may have intentionally bought too many rhubarb stalks when I saw them in the farmers market. Way too many than I needed for that pie but always a good excuse to experiment with more rhubarb recipes. 

Not that I need an excuse. 

Some of my greatest rhubarb recipes are at the bottom of this post but let’s talk cheesecake. Specifically this crazy flavor mashup cheesecake.

The cheesecake batter contains coconut milk and mint extract. The rhubarb is cooked separately with sugar, pureed and swirled into the batter. Garnishing the final product with mint leaves and coconut flakes amps up the pretty. 

I still have a few more ideas for rhubarb recipes this season. There is still a bundle of beautiful ruby colored stalks calling to my from my fridge. Stay tuned….

Coconut Mint Rhubarb Swirl Cheesecake 

Prep Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 large eggs
• 3 – 8oz packages plus 4 tablespoons (? to = 750g) cream cheese 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup  cornstarch
• 10 oz (cups cut up?)  fresh rhubarb stalks
• 3 tablespoons cherry, red plum or strawberry jam
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened – whatever you have on hand)
• Mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Make the Crust:

• Place the flour in a mixing bowl, Cut the butter into pieces and add to the flour. sprinkle 1/4 cup of the sugar over the top. Add the water and use your hands to knead the mixture into a dough.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Make the topping:

• Wash and trim the rhubarb stalks (do not use the leaves. They are poisonous)
• Cut the stalks into pieces and place in a saucepan.
• Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup water and cook for 10 minutes. 
• Mix in the jam and use a hand blender or transfer the mixture to a blender or a food processor to puree the mixture until smooth. 
• Let cool completely

Make the cake:

• Separate the eggs. 
• Beat together the egg yolks, cream cheese, mint extract, coconut milk,  cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the sugar.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Grease and flour a 10″ round springform pan.
• Remove the crust dough from the refrigerator. Place it on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out into a 12 inch round. 
• Transfer to the prepared pan and press in place. The crust should go up the sides of the pan about 1+1/2 inches. 
• Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the cream cheese mixture. Transfer the mixture to the pan.

• Spread the rhubarb mixture over the top of the cake. Use a small spatula or a teaspoon to swirl the rhubarb mixture into the batter.
• Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. 
• Remove from oven and as soon as the pan is cool enough, transfer the cake to a cooling rack fitted over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Finish the cake:

• Press the coconut flakes into the sides of the cake. 
• Press the mint leaves into the top of the rhubarb layer, randomly or in your choice of pattern (heart, star, etc.) 
• Sprinkle with shredded coconut. Transfer to a serving plate and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Rhubarb Lavender Cake

Rhubarb Lavender Cake

Rhubarb Meringue Cake

Rhubarb Raspberry Gin Fizz