1 week Ago By Angela Patrone
Cheesecake recipes often result in the dessert tasting quite bitter and tangy, which I find a little off-putting. However, I think I may have found a way to avoid this and add a smoother and creamier texture to this delicious bake . While Nigella Lawson’s recipe calls for 600g of cream cheese, I decided to half this amount and make up the difference with mascarpone.
Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese made from heavy cream and because of this, it’s not quite as tangy, but it is richer and more decadent. This is why it makes the perfect addition to cheesecake. I found that balancing rich mascarpone with tangy cream cheese made for a truly ideal texture and flavour in every bite.
For the base 150g of digestive biscuits 75g of unsalted butter, melted 300g of cream cheese 300g of mascarpone 150g of caster sugar Three large eggs Three large egg yolks One and a half tablespoons of vanilla extract For the topping 145ml of sour cream One tablespoon of caster sugar Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract I started by blitzing the biscuits in a food processor until they were like breadcrumbs before adding the butter and pulsing again. Alternatively, the biscuits can be crushed by hand with a rolling pin, but this will take longer. I then lined the bottom of an eight-inch springform tin, pressing the biscuits in with the back of a spoon before putting the tin in the fridge to set.
At this point, I preheated my oven to 180oC/160oC Fan/Gas Mark 4 before getting started on the filling. For this, I beat the cream cheese and mascarpone gently until it's smooth, then added the sugar and mixed. Next, I added the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla.
I lined the outside of the chilled tin with strong foil so that it covered the bottom and sides in one large piece, and then did the same again and put it into a roasting dish. This will protect the cheesecake from the water as it is cooked in its water bath. Next, I poured the cheese filling into the chilled biscuit base and then poured hot water from the kettle into the roasting tin around the cheesecake.
It should come about halfway up; don't overfill as it will be difficult to lift up the tin. A water bath is used to cook the delicate, custard-like filling slowly and evenly, acting as an insulator for the cheesecake. I put it in the oven and cooked it for 50 minutes.
It should feel set but not rigid. For the topping, I whisked together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla and poured it over the cheesecake before putting it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. I took the roasting tin out of the oven, then carefully removed the foil and let it cool on a rack to cool.
When it had cooled down completely, I removed the cheesecake from the tin and put it in the fridge. 20 minutes before eating, I took the cheesecake out of the fridge to let it get to room temperature..
