Ingredients

For the base:

• 200g digestive biscuits
  
• 75g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2 Cox apples
  
• 50g unsalted butter
  
• 50g unrefined caster sugar
  
• 2 tbsp Calvados
  
• 900g ricotta cheese
  
• 200g caster sugar
  
• 50g plain flour
  
• 4 large eggs beaten
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 1-2 Cox apples
  
• 25g soft brown sugar
  
• ½ tsp cinnamon
  
• Icing sugar, to dust

For the spun sugar:

• 200g unrefined caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Grease a loose 22cm spring-form tin with butter, then line the base with baking paper.

3. Prepare the base by crushing digestives in a freezer bag with a rolling pin. Place the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix with the melted butter. Press the biscuit mixture evenly into base of your prepared tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and cool for at least 5 minutes.

4. Reduce oven temperature to 170C.

5. For the filling, peel and the core apples and cut into small cubes. Melt the butter in frying pan, add the caster sugar and sauté the apple cubes until they turn golden brown (keep shaking the pan so the apples don’t stick). Pour the Calvados into the pan, set alight to flambé the apples. Leave to cool.

6. Place the ricotta in a large bowl and stir with a spatula so it is nice and smooth. Stir in the caster sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla. Then gradually add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time. Finally, sieve the cubes of sautéed apple to remove any remaining liquid and gently fold them into the cheesecake mixture. Pour the cheesecake filling onto the cooked biscuit base in your prepared cake tin.

7. For the topping, peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices. Arrange on top of the cheesecake mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over the top.

8. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 90 minutes, or until the cheesecake is a golden colour. Make sure the centre is fairly firm and that the point of sharp knife inserted into centre comes out clean.

9. Cool in the tin on wire rack. The cheesecake will sink slightly as it cools. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

10. To make spun sugar, heat the caster sugar on the hob to make a dark caramel. Once it has melted and turned a deep golden brown colour, plunge the pan into a sink of cold water and allow to cool and thicken for a couple of minutes. Then cover your kitchen floor with some newspaper and ask a friend to stand and hold two wooden spoons (one in each hand) lightly oiled with sunflower oil. Quickly ‘spin’ the sugar between the two wooden spoons. The spun sugar will quickly set, and you can then use it to decorate the top of your cheesecake.