Base & Sides 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour 2 tspn ground ginger 1 tbsp brown sugar 60 gm butter, chopped 1 egg yolk 250 gm natural honeycomb, cut into 2 cm pieces Filling 500 gm cream cheese (room temp) 1/2 cup honey 4 eggs 200 ml Crème fraîche 80 gm (1/2 cup) finely chopped glaceé ginger
Combine flour, sugar and ground ginger in a bowl and, using fingertips, mix in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in egg yolk and 1-2 tablespoons cold water and mix until dough begins to cling together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry onto the greased, inverted base of a 20 cm springform pan. Trim edge, prick all over with a fork, then freeze for 5 minutes.
Bake in centre of oven at 200°C for around 10 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden. Cool. Clip lightly-greased springform pan side onto base.
For filling, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in honey, then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in crème fraîche and one-third of the glacé ginger. Pour filling over base, scatter with remaining ginger and stir with a skewer to submerge it a little.
Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature and bake at 150°C for 1 hour or until filling is firm. Turn oven off and cool in oven with door ajar.
Keeps covered in fridge for up to four days. Just before serving, place cheesecake on a plate and place honeycomb around top of cake.