I had never had cheesecake until I was about 24. The idea of a cake made with cream cheese sounded very weird to me until then. One day my husband (at the time boyfriend) baked a cheesecake for me and I completely fell in love with it. It was the very first cake he baked for me! Then of course, when we went to New York we really couldn’t miss the opportunity to eat a proper New York Vanilla Cheesecake and so the first night we were there our dinner was a big slice of cheesecake at Junior’s, near Times Square. It was delicious! So dense and mellowy: pure happiness! That night we realized that our cheesecake was nowhere near to how a cheesecake should taste like. When we got back to the UK I wanted to find a recipe that would give me the same fantastic consistency and I finally found one that in our opinion is super close to the one we had in NY.
Thanks to https://www.joyofbaking.com/Cheesecake.html this is now our favourite! When I bake mine I don’t add any toppings because we like it plain. A little suggestion before we start with the ingredients, make sure you bake it the day before because it needs to rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 170⁰C fan oven and place the rack in the center. Well grease a springform cake tin with a 23cm base.
In a separate bowl, mix the biscuits crumbs with the melted butter and the sugar. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and also go up to the side (about 2.5cm). I do this by hand and then I cover this layer with some cling film, then I use a flat spatula to help me press down the crust evenly. Leave the crust covered with cling film and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling. I use a kitchen aid but if you don’t have it you can also use a hand mixer. At medium speed,with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and flour until creamy. Add 1 egg at the time (1 egg every 30 sec), then add the double cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
Take the cake tin from the refrigerator and pour the filling on top.
Wrap the cake tin with some foil from the bottom and all around it (leaving the top uncovered) or place the cake tin on a larger baking pan. This will help spillages in the oven
Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 120⁰C and bake for 60-90 minutes more. The cheesecake is ready when you shake the tin the middle is still wet and wobbly but firm around the edges.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack and let it cool completely
Run a knife around the inside edge of the tin to make sure the cake is not stuck to the sides. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 8 hours
Bake the cake the day before you want to eat it. It needs to rest overnight for at least 8 hours
Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature
To avoid cracks on the surface, avoid overbeating the filling and mix the batter at medium low speed because you don’t need to incorporate lots of air inside the batter
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 170⁰C fan oven and place the rack in the center. Well grease a springform cake tin with a 23cm base.
In a separate bowl, mix the biscuits crumbs with the melted butter and the sugar. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and also go up to the side (about 2.5cm). I do this by hand and then I cover this layer with some cling film, then I use a flat spatula to help me press down the crust evenly. Leave the crust covered with cling film and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Make the filling. I use a kitchen aid but if you don’t have it you can also use a hand mixer. At medium speed,with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and flour until creamy. Add 1 egg at the time (1 egg every 30 sec), then add the double cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
Take the cake tin from the refrigerator and pour the filling on top.
Wrap the cake tin with some foil from the bottom and all around it (leaving the top uncovered) or place the cake tin on a larger baking pan. This will help spillages in the oven
Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 120⁰C and bake for 60-90 minutes more. The cheesecake is ready when you shake the tin the middle is still wet and wobbly but firm around the edges.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack and let it cool completely
Run a knife around the inside edge of the tin to make sure the cake is not stuck to the sides. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 8 hours
Bake the cake the day before you want to eat it. It needs to rest overnight for at least 8 hours
Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature
To avoid cracks on the surface, avoid overbeating the filling and mix the batter at medium low speed because you don’t need to incorporate lots of air inside the batter