Kumquat cheesecake

Gosh and golly, I didn't realised I haven't blogged for over two weeks. I have been taking photos and notes, so hopefully will be back soon to full-time blogging as earlier. Christmas seems already a distant memory (though we are still struggling with the leftovers).
Days before Christmas I have prepared this easy and flavourful not-much-cooking-involved dessert - a kumquat and cranberry cheesecake. The original recipe for cranberry and kumquat cheesecake in a glass appeared in Sainsbury's magazine (December 2012 issue), it used fresh cranberries and looked very festive. I ended up using the recipe as a base and adapting it to our taste and to the ingredients I had available.

Kumquat cheesecake
Ingredients:
150g kumquats, halved lengthways
100g caster sugar
1 orange (juice + zest)
80g dried cranberries
2tbsp port
1 pack of Philadelphia cream cheese
1 egg white
80g icing sugar
50ml single cream
2tbsp white chocolate, grated
50g digestive biscuits
40g butter, melted

In a medium pan heat the caster sugar with the orange juice and port, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the halved kumquats and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the dried cranberries and cook for another five minutes. Leave to cool. You can make it a day ahead.
Crush the biscuits, mix the crumbs with the melted butter and put the mix at the bottom of a wide glass dish.
Whisk together the cream cheese with the icing sugar, grated white chocolate and the egg white. Spoon the cream cheese mix over the biscuit base. Top with the kumquats and cranberries (you will have some syrup left, I used mine just adding to tea instead of sugar).
Chill at least for an hour before serving.
A delightful dessert, which I am going to make again.

This gorgeous "Calories don't count on this spoon" dessert spoon was my prize from Strawberry Fool. I confess it makes me smile.

I was planning to add this recipe to Choclette's We Should Cocoa linky for December, but hey ho, missed the deadline.