Rhubarb Chiffon Cheesecake

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (3 ounces) graham craker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 cups chopped rhubarb (about 9 ounces)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 envelope (¼ ounce) unflavored gelatin
• ¼ cup water
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into cubes
• ½ cup thinly sliced strawberries (about 3 ounces)

Method

1. Pour graham cracker crumbs into an 8-inch spring from cake pan with removable rim.  Drizzle butter over crumbs and mix with your fingers until evenly moistened.  Press mixture evenly over bottom of pan.
2. Bake crust in at 350F oven until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.  Let cool about 10 minutes.
3. In a 1½ to 2-quart pan, bring rhubarb, sugar, and ½ cup water to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is tender when pierced, about six minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pour ¼ cup cold water into a blender.  Sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand 2 minutes.
5. Pour hot rhubarb mixture into blender.  Whirl until rhubarb is smoothly pureed and gelatin is completely dissolved; add cream cheese and whirl until smooth.
6. Pour mixture into crust, and chill until firm, about 2 hours.  Remove pan rim.  Arrange strawberry slices decoratively on cheesecake.  Cut into wedges.

Notes:

• Easily doubles.  Use a 12-inch spring form cake pan.
• It makes for easier transfer to a serving platter if you line the pan with parchment paper.
• For a different variation, pour half the mixture into the pan, layer with strawberry slices, and cover with the remaining mixture.  If using this option, make sure that the strawberries are ripe and use a very sharp knife to slice the cake so that you don’t tear it by getting stuck on a strawberry.