I like to say that life is too short for regrets, but if I were pressed to find one I might well say this; I didn’t try rhubarb until I was about twenty years old. Can you blame me? Like many British children I only saw it as a fibrous green-grey mush lurking under a pile of crumble. When it’s cooked like that it doesn’t exactly look appetising.

When I was diagnosed with IBS at nineteen I decided to follow a low-FODMAP diet, which I still do today. On this particular diet a number of fruits are ‘banned’, including stone fruits, apples and pears. This meant that crumble, a treat which I always enjoyed so much, was almost impossible to create. That is, until I remembered that rhubarb was both crumble and FODMAP friendly, and I fell in love.

Rhubarb’s sweet-sour sherberty taste is complex and delicious, and it makes a great foil for richer desserts. Not to mention the colour of it (when it’s not boiled to a pulp) is a gorgeous vibrant pink. It’s a welcome burst of colour and taste in the cold winter months, which is when forced rhubarb comes into season. No strawberries, no raspberries? No problem. Rhubarb’s got it all.

As well as the aforementioned crumble, rhubarb is great as a compote (traditionally served with custard). This flavour combination is so iconic that I knew I had to bring these two flavours together. And here we have it: A creamy baked cheesecake with a custard cream biscuit base and a rhubarb jelly on the top.

This recipe involved a few firsts for me as a cook. I’d never baked a cheesecake before, or made jelly. Because of that I had a few stumbles which I think I should warn you of, if you’re in the same position.

The jelly was actually very easy to make! Luckily I had just the right proportions of ingredients and I used leaf gelatine to set it. The jelly set after just an hour in the fridge and looked so beautiful; a vibrant peachy pink which adds a much-needed tartness to the rich cheesecake (so rich that I recommend small slices, which is unlike me).

The cheesecake was trickier. The more experienced amongst you will notice that the outside of the cheesecake is quite dark around the edge. I struggled with my timings because I worried about the cheesecake being undercooked, so I baked it for longer than instructed. I must admit I was thrown off by the ‘slight wobble’ instructions of the recipes that I consulted. To judge something by wobbling is pretty subjective, in my opinion. This recipe is the result of some research and post-baking judgement on my part, and hopefully it will serve you well.

Rhubarb + custard cream cheesecake (serves 16)

175g gluten-free custard cream biscuits

50g melted butter

900g cream cheese

250g caster sugar

3 tbsp gluten-free plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 orange

3 eggs plus 1 yolk

200ml double cream

For the rhubarb jelly:

225g rhubarb

juice of 1 orange

60g caster sugar

1 gelatine leaf

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees. Line the base of a springform baking tin (23cm) with baking paper or aluminium foil.
2. Crush the custard cream biscuits, either by hand of in a food processor, until you have fine crumbs. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and press the mixture into the base of the tin.
3. Bake the cheesecake base for ten minutes, then remove from the oven and leave the tin on a cooling rack. Leave the oven on.
4. Combine the rest of the cheesecake ingredients together using a whisk or electric mixer. The mixture will be liquid and pale.
5. Butter the sides of the tin and then pour the cheesecake mixture in. Bake for an hour and then turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake inside. If you prefer your cheesecake firmer, leave the oven door closed. If you want a creamier result, open the oven door. Leave for two hours.
6. Once the two hours are up remove the cheesecake from the oven. When it’s completely cool place it in the fridge to chill.
7. To make the rhubarb jelly, wash and chop your rhubarb. The size of the pieces doesn’t matter so long as they are fairly uniform.
8. Place the rhubarb with the orange juice and sugar into a pan over a medium heat until the rhubarb softens, this should take about ten minutes.
9. Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor and blitz it until you have a smooth liquid with no lumps.
10. Strain the liquid through a sieve. If you follow this recipe you should yield 1/4 pint of liquid.
11. Pour the clear liquid into the pan over a gentle heat to warm. Take one leaf of gelatine and place it into cold water. Leave it for five minutes.
12. After five minutes retrieve the softened gelatine leaf from the water and squeeze out the excess water. Place the leaf into your warm rhubarb liquid and stir to dissolve. Turn off the heat and leave the mixture to cool.
13. Bring your cheesecake out of the fridge. Naturally, baked cheesecakes often dip a little in the middle and are higher around the sides. The top of my cheesecake was very golden brown. I scraped the top layer off with a spoon. This pronounced the dip which gave me somewhere to pour my jelly into.
14. Pour the jelly onto the cheesecake and place it in the fridge to chill. It should be set in one hour.