CHEF

Baked vanilla cheesecake

THERE’S often a debate over which cheesecake is better – baked or set. Here the recipe calls for cream cheese. Use the best you can find, which is easier now than ever due to the widespread availability of premium products. The resulting cheesecake is fairly rich so I’d suggest serving it with some sour fruits or a fruit puree.

BAKED VANILLA CHEESECAKE

Serves 4

100g butter 50g caster sugar 5 eggs 185g flour 600g cream cheese 100g natural yogurt 50g icing sugar 1 lemon 2 vanilla pods

To make the pastry, place the butter and caster sugar in a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Now add the yolk of one egg and beat for one minute, then add 175g flour and beat lightly until the mixture comes together. Once together, remove the pastry from the mixer, wrap it in clingfilm and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Set the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

Once the pastry has rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is 1cm thick and put it on a non-stick baking sheet. Place a 25cm tart ring on top and push down. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper inside the ring and fill with baking beans or rice and put it in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Make sure the pastry is crisp before removing it from the oven.

Now make the filling. Crack the remaining eggs into a bowl along with the cream cheese, yogurt, 10g flour and icing sugar and beat well. Zest the lemon, cut the vanilla pods in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds, adding the seeds and lemon zest to the smooth mixture and mix well. Pour the mixture into the lined tart ring and bake for 30-40 minutes until the mixture is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool before placing in the fridge for two hours. Once cold, remove from the ring and serve cold.

PHOTOGRAPH: ALAN DONALDSON