How to make a baked cheesecake – recipe

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This article titled “How to make a baked cheesecake – recipe” was written by Felicity Cloake, for The Guardian on Wednesday 10th October 2018 11.00 UTC

A favourite in ancient Rome, cheesecake is now more commonly associated with the new world, and specifically New York. That classic, dense, sour cream-spiked recipe relies on nothing other than vanilla and lemon for its flavour, though (whisper it) it’s also rather nice with some fresh fruit or shaved chocolate on top. I won’t tell if you don’t.

Prep 30 min

Cook 90 min + cooling

Serves 10-12

60g digestive biscuits (about 4 biscuits)
60g ginger nuts (about 6 biscuits)
50g butter
1 pinch salt
600g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp cornflour
150g caster sugar
200g sour cream
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large free-range eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 egg white
Fruit compote or fresh berries, to serve

1 Heat a baking sheet

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6 and put a baking tray on the middle shelf to heat up (putting the cake base on a heated sheet will help it crisp up). Lightly grease a 20cm springform cake tin with oil or butter.

2 Bash the biscuits

Put the biscuits in a resealable bag, seal and bash with a rolling pin to yield a mix of crumbs and slightly larger lumps – you can use a food processor, if you like, but take care not to break down the biscuits too much. (Use just digestives, ginger nuts or other biscuits entirely if you prefer, but I think this combination gives the perfect texture and flavour.)

Find about 10 assorted biscuits – ginger nuts and digestives, and bash roughly in a bag. — Take about 10 biscuits – assorted ginger nuts and digestives, say – and bash roughly in a bag. Photographs by Dan Matthews for the Guardian.

3 Make the base

Melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave. Put the biscuit crumbs into a bowl and pour in the butter, plus a pinch of salt, and mix well to combine. Spoon into the greased tin, spread out and use the bottom of a glass to press it down to make a firm, compact base, going slightly up the sides, if necessary.

Bash the biscuits to a rough crumb, then pack them into the cake tin and use a glass to press them into place. — Bash the biscuits to a rough crumb, pack them into the cake tin and use a glass to press them into place.

4 Start on the topping

Put the tin on the tray in the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Drain off any excess liquid from the cheese, if need be, then put it in a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon to loosen, before whisking to get rid of any lumps.

5 Flavour the cheese

Put the cornflour and sugar in a medium bowl, then whisk in the sour cream a bit at a time, until well combined. Mix into the cream cheese, along with the vanilla extract and lemon zest. (Play with the flavourings: orange or lime zest are also nice, particularly with chocolate biscuits, or use orange flower water or a pinch of nutmeg instead of the vanilla.)

Glaze the biscuit base, mix together the topping ingredients, flavour at will, and pour the topping on top of the base.

6 Add the eggs

Beat the whole eggs in a bowl – keep back the white for later – then gradually whisk into the cheese mixture, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Beat until creamy and smooth without any lumps. Taste (provided you don’t mind raw eggs) and add more zest, vanilla or sugar, if you like.

7 Brush the base with egg white

Put the egg white in a bowl and whisk briefly to loosen. Take the tin out of the oven, leaving the baking sheet in there, and turn down the temperature to 130C/260F/gas ½. Brush the egg white over the base, being very gentle so as not to disturb the crumb, then leave to sit while the oven cools.

Pour the filling over the baked base and bake until set but still a little wobbly. Then run a knife around the edge and leave to cool completely.

8 Bake the cheesecake

Pour the cheese mixture into the tin and shake gently to help level it out. Skim a finger across the top to get rid of any air bubbles, then return the tin to the oven for about 90 minutes, until the filling is set, but still slightly wobbly in the middle. Once it’s done, turn off the oven and take out the tin.

Cheesecake S5: 9 Release the cheesecake from the tin and serve just as it is or topped with fresh berries or compote. — Release the cheesecake from its tin and serve just as it is or topped with fresh berries or compote.

9 Finishing touches

Run a small palette or butter knife around the edge of the cake, then put it back in the oven and leave to cool completely before releasing the cheesecake from its tin: this should stop the top cracking. If it does so regardless, a dollop of fruit compote or an artfully placed handful of fresh berries will hide a multitude of sins.

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