Luscious and super Delicious Cheesecake

Bakingyummies
Cheesecake

Cheesecake...uhhh...yummmmm......yummyyyyy,isn't it? I just love that soft, creamy, silky and almost melts in your mouth texture of cheesecakes. Every time I eat them, I just keep falling more and more in love with them. If you have never baked a cheesecake before, I insist(maybe even force and push) you to make one at home. There is absolutely no comparison between what you get in those high end cafes and cake outlets and what you make at home.

You know my cheesecake journey did not start on a good note though. Quite sometime back when I first read about cheesecakes on the net, I decided to give it a try. However, since I had never tasted a cheesecake before and I wasn't aware about the taste and texture of it, I thought it would be a good idea to try a cheesecake at a cake outlet first. So on a weekend when I and my husband went out for shopping in a mall, I bought a slice of mango cheesecake from this very popular cake outlet. As soon as I had a small piece of that slice, I wanted to throw up! Though I am pretty choosy, fussy and picky when it comes to food, there are not many foods that I have tasted and just disliked as soon as it has hit my palette. This was seriously not good but more than that, I was very disappointed since I was completely put off by the idea of making cheesecake at home. So for the next couple of months, I just kept on pondering....should I or shouldn't I bake a cheesecake? and then one day I finally decided to give it a shot. I mean what was the worst thing that could happen? if it didn't turn out good, I can always treat man's best friends. They have anyways been my saviors on more than a couple of occasions especially in my initial baking days.
Unfortunately for them, they lost out on a treat since my first trial at baking a cheesecake turned out decent enough to consume and definitely not like what I had tasted before. Since then, I have delved into the world of cheesecakes, chocolate, mango(yeah mango too), blueberry, raspberry, strawberry...and I always felt that I make pretty decent cheesecakes....UNTIL I made this one. This is a very simple and a no fuss cheesecake but has a very soft, velvety smooth and silky texture and it tastes absolutely DIVINE!!! I came across this recipe in Flour by Joanne Chang. This is the first recipe that I tried from this book and with the kind of result that I have got, I am looking forward to try more recipes from this book.


The key ingredient in this Luscious cheesecake's recipe is Crème Fraîche. I've always used sour cream for my cheesecake recipes but the difference that Crème Fraîche makes is remarkable. You can make your own Crème Fraîche at home, stir in 4 tablespoons of buttermilk(or a mixture of 2 tablespoons yogurt and 2 tablespoons milk) to 1 quart(1 liter) heavy or whipping cream, cover and leave at room temperature for 8 to 10 hrs or until it is thick and creamy. If after 10 hrs it is still not thick, stir it with a spoon, cover and leave at room temperature again until it reaches the required consistency. You can store it in the refrigerator covered tightly for up to 2 weeks. The next time you want to make more Crème Fraîche, stir in 4 tablespoons of the previous batch instead of the buttermilk to a quart of fresh cream and repeat the process. You can use sour cream instead of Crème Fraîche if you want to.

Note: Since, Joanne used a 9 inch spring form pan for this cheesecake and I only had an 8 inch one, I have made a few changes to the recipe. However, I have listed the biscuit base recipe measurements for both. Also, few minor changes have been made to the recipe.

Makes one 8 inch or 9 inch cheesecake.

Ingredients
For 8 inch biscuit base
120 grams / 4.2 ounces hi-fibre digestive biscuits
45 grams  / 1.6 ounces unsalted melted butter
1+1/2 tablespoons caster or superfine sugar

For 9 inch biscuit base
160 grams / 5.6 ounces hi-fibre digestive biscuits
75 grams / 2.6 ounces unsalted melted butter
2 tablespoons caster or superfine sugar

For the cream cheese mixture (measurements would remain same for 8 inch and 9 inch cake)
680 grams / 24 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
300 grams / 10.6 ounces caster or superfine sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
2+1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon table salt or 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
70 grams / 1/3rd cup / 80 ml / 2.7fl ounces Crème Fraîche(recipe above) or sour cream at room temperature(to make the sour cream, add 1 tablespoon yogurt to 60 ml heavy cream and mix thoroughly).

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Butter sides of the 8 inch or 9 inch spring form pan and line the base with parchment paper.

In a food processor or a grinder, pulse the biscuits to fine crumbs. Take out 2 tablespoons of the crumbs and use them to dust the sides of the spring form pan. Add the melted butter and the 1+1/2 tablespoons(or 2 tablespoons if using 9 inch pan)caster sugar to the remaining crumbs and pulse until the mixture comes together. Press this mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 10 to 15 mins or until golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.


Reduce the oven temperature to 165 degrees C. Keep a pan full of water on low flame. In a stand mixer on medium speed with the paddle attachment, process the cream cheese till it is soft and creamy(1-2 mins).


Reduce the speed to low. Add sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the bowl as and when required. Add the eggs and beat until well mixed. Add lemon juice, salt, vanilla extract and Crème Fraîche and beat for 1-2 mins.


Scrape the bowl and beat until smooth and thoroughly mixed.

Wrap the spring form pan till the edges thoroughly with aluminium foil(I wrap the pan twice till the edge for extra protection). Keep the pan in a roasting dish. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pan. Run a knife through the mixture slowly a couple of times to eliminate any air bubbles.


Fill the roasting dish with the boiling water till it reaches about halfway up the pan. Place the roasting dish in the oven and bake the cheesecake till the center jiggles a little when the pan is shaken slightly(about 45 mins to an hour). Do not get panicked if the cheesecake reaches the edge of the pan. The batter won't come out and it would settle down as the cheesecake cools. Switch off the oven and let the cake be in the oven for about half an hour.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool and as soon as you can handle it, say about 5 mins later, remove the aluminium foil and let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once the cake is cooled, say 5-6 hours later, loosely place a tissue on top of the pan, place a cling film or an aluminium foil on top of the tissue. Secure the tissue and the cling film to the pan with a rubber band. Keep the covered pan in the refrigerator for at least 5 to 6 hrs or preferably overnight.

Once you want to eat the cheesecake, take it out from the refrigerator, remove the clingfilm or the foil and the tissue. Now run a knife or a spatula along the edges of the cheesecake. Carefully and slowly, remove the side of the pan.

To slice the cheesecake, dip a sharp knife in warm water, pat it dry with a tissue or a cloth and cut through the cheesecake. Before you use the knife again, dip it again in the warm water and pat dry to clean. Repeat this process each time you use the knife. The reason we do this is to give each slice a clean look, otherwise you will have the cream cheese clinging to the knife and messing up the slices.

Enjoy the luscious, smooth and creamy cheesecake either on its own or with a few slices of fresh fruit of your choice.

Cheesecake will keep well in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days.

A couple of things to take care of: 1. While preparing the cream cheese batter, do not over-mix it at any stage. Over-mixing creates air bubbles in the batter leading to holes and cracks in your baked cheesecake.

2. The reason a cheesecake is baked in a water bath is because it solves two purposes, first, it stops the cake from having a dry texture due to the moisture from the water thereby giving you a silky and velvety texture and second, the water helps to maintain a constant temperature in the oven so that the cheesecake bakes evenly greatly reducing the chances of cracks on the cheesecake's surface.

Happy Baking!!!

Cheesecake


6 comments

  1. I've only ever made chilled cheesecakes but I'd love to try making a proper baked one. This looks delicious - I love its simplicity and it sounds fun experimenting with lots more flavours!

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely..I'm going to try and experiment with different flavors using this as a base especially mangoes, since they are available in plenty at the moment. You should try a baked cheesecake, I'm sure you'll like it.

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  2. hi, how would i turn this cheesecake into a rich mango cheesecake. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Hi, I am sorry for the delay in reply. For the mango version, add chopped mango pieces on the biscuit base before you add the cream cheese batter and add 2 cups of mango puree to the cream cheese mixture along with Crème Fraîche. Keep in mind that you will have to use a slightly bigger cake tin for baking.

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  3. I have your baked cheese cake in the oven right now its been in for about 45 minutes and I dared to take a sneeky peek and it looks to be doing ok, I feel i should leave it for the full hour as I used the larger spring tin to accomodate fresh blueberries in addition to all of your ingrediants. I am hoping that it will turn out yummy and will let you know when its cooled and eaten tomorrow after our Sunday luch with family xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Fiona, if you use a larger tin, the baking time reduces since the pan area increases making the batter bake faster. So always do check abt 10 mins sooner than mentioned in the recipe. I hope your cake turns out well, Good Luck!

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