SWEET THINGS

An occasional little bit of what you fancy doesn’t do you any harm

Ido preach that we have too much sugar in our diets but everything in moderation and a life without cheating sometimes would be a life of rules and in my book that’s no fun. Every now and then we need to make something for a celebration dinner or party. These two don’t breach too many rules and when you divide the sugar among the servings it’s not so bad.

New York Cheesecake with Cinnamon Cream

I’ve been cooking this for years. Baked cheesecakes are decadent and delicious. If you have time, when the cheesecake is cooked, turn off the oven and leave it in there until it’s completely cool. This will prevent the cake from sinking in the middle and cracking.

Serves: 8 Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour

1 packet (230g) of plain sweet biscuits 125g butter (melted)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

600g of full-fat cream cheese

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Rind and juice of a lemon

Cinnamon cream 300ml cream ½ cup caster sugar 1 Tbsp cinnamon Zest of a lemon

Preheat oven to 160C fan-bake. Line the bottom of a 22cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.

Place the biscuits in a food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, place the biscuits in a strong plastic bag and bash with a wooden spoon until you have fine crumbs.

Mix the melted butter and ground cinnamon into the biscuit crumbs, pour into the prepared cake tin, smooth and set aside.

In the food processor again, place all the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla, lemon rind and juice, blend until smooth. Pour the cheesecake filling over the biscuit base.

Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour. Cool in the tin, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the cinnamon cream, beat the cream and caster sugar to soft peaks, gently fold through the cinnamon and lemon juice.

Remove the cheesecake from the tin and place on a plate: serve with the cinnamon cream.