Cheesecake is one of the more versatile cakes, and this is one of its predominant qualities. The cheesecake recipe can be modified to please those more interested in light fruit based deserts, and equally to those who want something heavy and filled with chocolate and cream. It isn’t only the topping that determines the sweetness of the cake, but the soft cheese mixture and also the biscuit base allow for a range of interchangeable ingredients that alter each cheesecake and give each cheesecake recipe its own unique personality. This is a recipe of one of the more common cheesecake recipes:
Ingredients to serve at least ten people:
Four digestive biscuits and six ginger nut biscuits
600 grams of full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
200 grams of sour cream
150 grams of caster sugar
50 grams of butter
Four tablespoons of cornflour
Half a lemon’s finely grated zest
One teaspoon of vanilla extract
Four large eggs and one additional egg white, at room temperature
One pinch of salt
1. The oven should be preheated to 180C and a baking sheet put on the middle shelf. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a freezer bag and smashing it with a rolling pin. This is the best method because it is less reliable than a blender. It’s good to leave a few larger chunks of biscuit for the base. In a saucepan, melt the butter and then add the biscuit crumbs and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly.
2. Spread the mixture over a base of a cake tin, and press it down forcefully with a glass so that the base it tight and flat. The tin should then be put in the oven.
3. While the base is baking, make the topping. Add all of the cheese into a bowl and soften it with a whisk until all of the lumps have disappeared. Then the sour cream, the cornflour, the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract should be mixed into the bowl. Beat the four eggs together, yolk and white, and then slowly add to the mixture, which should then be beaten until the mixture is no longer rough or lumpy.
4. Remove the tin from the oven and then lightly brush the surface with the egg white. Turn the oven to 100C and open the oven door to quicken the cooling down process.
5. Let the base of the cheesecake rest for a while until the oven has cooled. When it has, pour the cheesecake mixture to fill the tin and move it around a little, until the mixture is level. If there are any bubbles, then pop them. Bake for around one and a half hours, or until the topping has almost set; there should still be a little movement in the center. Separate the edges of the cake from the tin with a thin spatula and then turn off the oven, letting the cheesecake cool before removing it and putting it into the fridge.
Following the 5 steps in this cheesecake recipe (interesting for the readers could be that in my country – Denmark, we call it cheesecake opskrift) you can surprise your family with wonderful and tasty treat.
