Medieval sambocade

ELEANOR BARNETT recreates an early cheesecake - a dish with surprisingly long roots stretching back well over two millennia

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Serves: 6-8 Difficulty: 6/10 Time taken: 3 hours

METHOD

1. For pastry, mix flour, caster sugar and salt.

2. Rub butter into the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles crumbs.

3. Gradually add in cold water with a rubber spatula until mixture starts to clump.

4. Tip it out and make a dome shape. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.

5. Roll out the pastry to about 0.5cm thick and lay over a lined cake or tart dish. Trim, leaving 1cm overhanging; tuck this under.

6. Refrigerate again for 15 minutes while preheating oven to 200°C.

7. Blind bake the crust: prick the pastry with a fork, place baking paper on top and fill with baking beads or dry rice. Bake for 15 minutes.

8. For the filling, mix cottage and ricotta cheeses, sugar, elderflowers and rosewater.

9. Beat egg whites into stiff white peaks, then fold into the cheese mixture.

10. Remove beads/rice and baking paper from crust; pour in filling.