Baked San Juan cheesecakes with medjool apple jam

For the jam

• 50g unsalted butter
• 150g ricotta
• 250g cream cheese
• 100g double cream
• 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 lemon
• 5 eggs
• 70g corn starch
• 110g caster sugar

• 2 apples
• 500g medjool dates
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 250g apple juice
• 150g water

Step 1
Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3.

Step 2
Line two muffin trays with 24 large muffin paper cases (the largest size you can buy; or make your own using 18cm square sheets of baking paper, though that’s admittedly a slightly fiddly job).

Step 3
Put all the jam ingredients in a medium saucepan and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, until the apples are soft, then blitz with a stick blender and push through a sieve to get a lovely, smooth puree.

Step 4
To make the cheesecakes, melt the butter over a very gentle heat and whisk in the ricotta, cream cheese and cream.

Step 5
Season with half the salt, then stir in the vanilla essence and the juice of half the lemon.

Step 6
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the corn flour.

Step 7
Pour in the cheese and cream mixture, and whisk to a smooth, creamy batter.

Step 8
In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites, salt and remaining lemon juice to soft peaks, then add the caster sugar and beat to stiff peaks.

Step 9
Use a large metal spoon to fold a third of this mixture into the cheese mix, to loosen, then gently fold in the rest of the egg white mix.

Step 10
Add enough of the cheesecake mix to fill each muffin case by a third, then top with a small teaspoon of the jam.

Step 11
Add more of the cheesecake mix until it fills the cases enough to leave 2.5cm of paper at the top, to allow for the cheesecakes to rise.

Step 12
Pour enough boiling water into two roasting tins to fill them by 5cm, then carefully place one muffin tray into each water bath.

Step 13
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cheesecakes are golden and risen, then turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar, until the cheesecakes cool.

Step 14
They will shrink back a little.

Step 15
Once cool, refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.

Step 16
If you prefer, you can bake one large cheesecake topped with a thin spread of jam, in which case cook it in a greased and lined spring-form tin and increase the cooking time by 15-20 minutes.