This is a never-fail cheesecake. Bake it and watch the compliments flow.
Serves: 14 – 16 slices
Base:
– 210 g Marie biscuits, crushed (430 ml)
– 100 g granulated sugar (80 ml)
– 30 ml cream
– 60 g butter or margarine, melted (60 ml)
Filling:
– Juice and rind from l lemon
– 300 ml cream
– 600 g cream cheese – straight out of the fridge
– 120 g granulated sugar (150 ml)
– 5 ml vanilla essence
– 3 extra-large eggs
Topping:
-150 ml cream
– Juice of l lemon
– 5 ml vanilla essence
– 40 g castor sugar (45 ml)
Decoration:
– Lemon slices, cut in half and lemon twist for the centre.
Method:
1. Place juice of half a lemon in a measuring cup with 300 ml cream. Stir and set aside together with lemon rind.
2. Grease a 26 cm springform pan with melted butter or margarine; place a 26cm baking paper circle over base and grease surface of paper.
3. Preheat oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan/Gas mark 5.
4. Mix crushed biscuits, sugar and cream together using a Kenwood mixer or food processor; then add in melted butter and mix well together.
5. Press into the pan only on the bottom, not on the sides of the tin. Set aside.
6. Mix cream cheese lightly with balloon whisk in Kenwood food mixer; add in sugar, lemon rind and vanilla.
7. Add eggs one by one. Be careful not to overbeat.
8. Add in 300 ml soured cream. Mix well and pour over biscuit base.
9. Bake for 50 minutes, until a skin has formed and mixture has set.
10. Mix together topping ingredients and carefully spread over top of cheesecake.
11. Bake a further 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
12. Allow to cool. Do not refrigerate yet.
13. When totally cold, remove from baking tin. Use a large knife to separate the base from the paper, and slide off onto a serving plate.
14. Decorate with lemon slices around the edge and a lemon twist in the centre of the dessert.
Tips:
• Keeps for at least 7 days in the refrigerator.
• Freezes well; best to cut into portions and then open-freeze before covering. Keeps for three months in the freezer.
• Make a raspberry cheesecake by adding 100 g crushed fresh raspberries to the mixture (step 8) with the sour cream. When baked, cover baking tin with aluminium foil; cool gently. Serve with 200 g fresh raspberries
on the top and dust with sifted icing sugar.