Ingredients

• For the cheesecake:
• 1 cup - cream cheese
• 1/2 cup - sugar
• 2 - eggs
• 1 tsp - vanilla essence
• 1 - lemon zest
• 1 tsp - corn flour
• 50 gms - sour cream
• vermicelli to garnish
• semolina to line base
• For the compote:
• 2 - sweet potatoes (boiled, peeled and crushed)
• 1 - cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 cup - sugar
• 1 tsp - cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp - lemon juice
• For the biscuit base:
• 1/2 cup - any biscuit crumbs
• 100 gms - butter
• 1/4 cup - powdered sugar
• 1 - zest of lemon
• For pepper ice cream: 750 ml. milk
• 1 tsp - vanilla essence
• 9 - egg yolks
• 240 gms - cream, whipped and ready
• 30 gms - black pepper, coarsely crushed

How to Make Sweet Potato Cucumber Cheesecake

• For the compote:
• In a hard bottom pan, add sugar and a little water to make a thick golden syrup.
• Add lemon zest and lemon juice.
• Add the cucumber and stir well for 3-4 mins.
• Add crushed sweet potatoes, cinnamon powder, and mix.
• Make thick compote. Let it cool.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C.
• For the biscuit base:
• Combine all the ingredients and press into the cake mould. Bake for 15 mins.
• For the cheesecake:
• Beat the cheese and sugar together in a bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla essence and lemon zest.
• Scrape down the bowl, and add corn flour, sour cream and mix to a smooth batter. Do not aerate.
• Add the cooled sweet potato and cucumber, mix to it.
• Add the above mixture to the ready biscuit lined base. Use well-greased moulds, coated with semolina.
• Top with a little roasted vermicelli.
• Bake at 150 deg C in a water bath for 60-80 mins.
• For the pepper ice cream:
• Heat the milk with vanilla essence till it simmers. Cool for 20 mins. Whisk yolk and sugar till sugar dissolves. Add the above milk.
• Add cream and coarsely crushed pepper. Cool.
• Churn in an ice cream machine (alternately, take readymade frozen vanilla ice cream, fold in crushed pepper and refreeze).
• Serve with the sweet potato cheese cake.