I was never a real cheesecake fan until we stayed at Pop Century hotel in Walt Disney World in Florida and I had a slice of tie-dyed cheesecake.
Apart from all the hideous colourings the vanilla taste was amazing and I was sold on cheesecake from then on! I am not keen on flavoured cheesecakes as I like to actually taste the cheese so I have only added vanilla bean paste to the mix.
It is lovely topped with delicious tart fresh fruit such as blackcurrants. For me this is my ultimate cheesecake and is perfect as it is.......
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4 then grease the bottom and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin.
Next melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave.
Put the biscuits in a large freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin until finely crushed.
Put the biscuit crumbs and butter into a bowl and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour into the prepared tin and flatten and level with the back of a spoon.
Place the tin in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
Set aside to cool while making the filling.
In the bowl of a stand mixer place the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Then add the flour, caster sugar, vanilla, eggs and 150ml of sour cream. Beat until light and fluffy.
Pour the mixture into the digestive base and smooth and level the top.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes - it will still wobble but don’t worry!
Take the cheesecake out of the oven.
Set aside while you make the sour cream topping.
Mix the remaining sour cream with the sieved icing sugar and carefully pour over the top and level.
Place the cheesecake back in the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. It should be slightly wobbly in the middle.
Leave the cheesecake in the tin to cool - DO NOT try to take out of the tin or it will crack!
Once cool place it in the fridge overnight and then remove the tin.
Baked Vanilla Cheesecake
Sarah's servings: 10
Sarah's skill: Easy
Baking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
14 Digestive biscuits
100g Unsalted butter
600g Cream cheese
25g Plain flour
175g Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla bean paste or 2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Large eggs
1 Large egg yolk
300ml Sour cream
50g Sieved icing sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade (160 fan) Gas mark 4
Grease the bottom and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin.
Melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave.
Put the biscuits in a large freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin until finely crushed.
Put the biscuit crumbs and butter into a bowl and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour into the prepared tin and flatten and level with the back of a spoon.
Place the tin in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
Set aside to cool while making the filling.
In the bowl of a stand mixer place the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Then add the flour, caster sugar, vanilla, eggs and 150ml of sour cream. Beat until light and fluffy.
Pour the mixture into the digestive base and smooth and level the top.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.
Take the cheesecake out of the oven and set aside while you make the sour cream topping.
Mix the remaining sour cream with the sieved icing sugar and carefully pour over the top and level.
Place the cheesecake back in the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. It should be slightly wobbly in the middle.
Leave the cheesecake in the tin to cool - DO NOT try to take out of the tin or it will crack!
Once cool place it in the fridge overnight and then remove the tin.
Sarah's Extra Slice........
Do not be tempted to remove the tin until it has chilled overnight or it will crack!
Another tip is to run a knife around the edges (in case it is stuck to the tin) before it cools as this can make it crack if it is stuck to the tin as it cools.
Add fresh fruit to the top if required.
I use vanilla bean paste as I find the taste of extract artificial in things like this where the vanilla is the star of the show.