
You know your little girl is growing up when she requests that you bake her a New York-style Cheesecake with strawberries on top for her 9th birthday (like the one you made her dad), instead of the beautiful birthday cake you had planned with pink marzipan ballet slippers on top of it. Heartbreaking! Of course, I will bake her that cheesecake, but I’m sure she won’t say no if I make the ballet cake as well.
I’m not a huge fan of baked cheesecakes, I prefer the refrigerated lemony kind, but the rest of the family love this recipe and I make it at least two or three times a year. It’s also nice with a strawberry sauce drizzled over the top. I found the original recipe to be way too big, so I have altered the ingredients a little. The original called for 750g of cream cheese, but I only use 500g, and they used 4 eggs, but I use 3. Other than that I have kept to the original recipe. Some people are daunted by baked cheesecakes, but don’t be. As long as you cream that cheese until it is ultra-smooth it will turn out beautifully. Oh, and cool it in the oven with the door ajar to stop it from cracking badly.
Rich New York-Style Cheesecake
Preparation time: 40 minutes + 2 hours refrigeration
Serves 10-12
Ingredients:
Pastry:
1/2 cup Self-Raising Flour
1 Cup Plain Flour
1/4 Cup Caster Sugar
1 tsp Grated Lemon Rind
80g Butter (I use unsalted)
1 Egg
Filling:
500g Cream Cheese
1 Cup Caster Sugar
1/4 Cup Plain Flour
2 tsp Grated Orange Rind
2 tsp Grated Lemon Rind
3 Eggs
2/3 Cup Cream
Directions:
Place flours, sugar, rind and butter in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds or until the mixture resembles find crumbs. Don’t worry if you don’t have a food processor, mine is on the blink and I made the pastry by hand.
Add egg, process until mixture just comes together.
Knead gently on floured surface.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or until firm.
Now, there is an easy way to do this, which is naturally the way I do it, or there is the professional way of rolling out the pastry between two sheets of baking paper large enough to fit the base and sides of a greased 22cm round springform cake tin, and then easing it into the tin then trimming the edges. If you choose the easy way, just take clumps of your pastry dough and mould it to the base and sides of your springform tin so that it covers the tin in an even layer. Don’t forget to lightly grease your pan first!
Then, bake it in a moderately hot oven of 210C (190C gas) for 10 minutes or until the pastry is just cooked through. Remember, it will be going back into the oven again with the filling. Cool while you finish the filling.
To make the filling: Reduce your oven temperature to moderate 180C.
Using electric beaters, beat the cheese in a large bowl until it is smooth and creamy.
Add sugar, flour and rinds, beating until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add the cream and beat until combined.
Pour the mixture into your prepared pastry case and bake for 1 hour, or until it is firm to touch.
Allow it to cool in your open oven, then refrigerate until it is firm.
Decorate with strawberries, strawberry sauce, or cream and your favourite berries.
This cheesecake always tastes better the day after you make it, so if you can, make it a day in advance.
For more great recipes ideas, visit these Recipe Swaps:
http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com.au/
http://lifeasmom.com/
http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com.au/
Source of the Original Recipe: Family Circle’s Cheesecakes, Pavlovas & Trifles