Rose & raspberry cheesecake with ginger crust

The day before, make the crust. Put the ginger nuts into a food processor and whizz to fine crumbs. Pour in the butter and pulse again to the texture of wet sand. To do this by hand, crush the biscuits in a bag with a rolling pin, then combine with the butter in a mixing bowl.

Lightly grease a 20cm round deep, loosebottomed cake tin (see tip). Using a spatula, scrape the crumbs into the tin, then slowly and carefully push them ¾ of the way up the side of the tin using your hands, to form a thin even crust, with a thin layer on the base. If the biscuits stick to your hands more than the tin, pop in the fridge for 5 minutes or so to cool the butter down.

Using a spoon, gently level the walls off and flatten the base. Make sure there are no holes and pay attention to the bottom corners between base and sides – they should be at right angles rather than sloping. Chill the crust for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. For the filling, beat the cheeses and sugar together with an electric hand mixer until smooth and runny. Stir in ¼ tsp rose water, then taste and add more if you want it stronger. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, then sift over the flour and slowly beat that in.

Whisk the jam with a fork until smooth and runnier. Put the chilled cheesecake tin on a baking tray, then carefully pour in the filling. Drizzle the jam in thin streams over the top, allowing some to sink, then adding more.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cheesecake edges are set but the middle still has a thick wobble when the tin is gently shaken. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, leave to cool completely, then chill overnight. Don’t worry if it slightly shrinks away from the sides.

Bring the cheesecake back to room temperature for 1 hour, then serve and decorate with upturned raspberries in concentric circles until the entire top of the cheesecake is covered. Slice with a sharp knife to serve.