Baked Cheesecake

Silke, my lovely sister-in-law made this German-style baked cheesecake at Christmas time & we all loved it.

It looks fabulous & tastes delicious, isn't overly sweet & rather than just a dessert it's a real food.

Since my birthday comes at the end of January I decided to make one for myself.

Here's the general recipe, adapted from several that I found:

Base:

2 cups of flour

200 grams butter

1/3 cup raw sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

process in the whizz till mix looks like fine breadcrumbs then add

one egg

pulse to combine..until it all comes together

press into greased spring form tin 

Chill for 30 minutes

Pour this mix into the centre:

3 cups of quark, yoghurt cheese, ricotta or a mixture of them all.

(to make up the quantity of dairy you could also drain some thick Greek yoghurt to add to the mix...tip it into muslin in a sieve & hang over a bowl to let the whey drain off)

4 eggs

1 cup raw sugar or honey or half & half

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup soft unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour or cornflour

Pulse in the food processor to mix until very smooth adding the flour last.

Bake at 150 degrees C (300F) for around 70-80 minutes or until firm to the touch in the centre & lightly golden brown.

I added 3 black doris plums to my mixture & it made a pretty colour & a good flavour.

The centre is likely to crack when cooked but looks fabulous piled up with fruit such as berries when served or make a fruit jelly for the topping as below.

Fruit jellies are so easy & amazingly delicious.
This one was made with organic pomegranate juice.
2 1/2 tsps gelatine powder sprinkled over 1/2 juice in a small pot
stand for 5 mins for the gelatine to swell
gently heat the mixture stirring all the time...you can see the gelatine dissolve
as soon as it's clear remove from the heat
set aside to cool a little
stir in a tbsp of honey or raw sugar & a tsp of rosewater (if you like)
 then add in another 1 & 1/2 cups of juice
stand for an hour or more until it's just starting to set, then pour over cheesecake
I poured too soon & the jelly just soaked in through the cracks.
It will set more quickly in the fridge but then it would be good to set a timer so that you don't forget about it & it sets before you've used it.
Decorate with berries or other fruit like cherries.
Chill well..preferably overnight.
Any left over jelly can be set in small bowls.
Adjust the flavours to what you have available, the season & the fruits you love.
Passionfruit, raspberry, strawberry, boysenberry, apple....

 Catherine