No, I’m not going to London – I WISH! Unfortunately, it’s just a repost of this humble but exquisite baked London cheesecake, courtesy of Nigella Lawson. I have been making this particular cake ever since I first purchased this cookbook a few years ago, its the cheesecake which convinced my family that cheesecake could actually be tasty (though it also spoiled them in that they refuse any cheesecake other than ones I’ve made at home!) and is the only recipe that has resulted in people begging, cajoling and almost grovelling to me to sell this cake to them, despite my offers to give them the recipe so they could make it themselves.

Errr, okay…?!

Personally, I don’t understand the logic of offering to buy cheesecakes for $25 a pop when the recipe is being given to you for free, but hey, apparently some people have that kind of money to burn!

This cake tastes so amazing that, believe it or not, it’s the only baked cheesecake recipe I return to without fail, so much so that I actually have no interest in trying other recipes. Because, frankly, when you’ve got perfection, why mess with it, hey?

(For long time readers, yes, I’ve blogged this recipe before, but I was so chuffed with the photos that I thought they deserved a repost, hehehe!)

Baked London Cheesecake (adapted from “How To Be A Domestic Goddess“)

Ingredients
200g digestive biscuits (I use Arnotts Marie biscuits)
100g unsalted butter at room temperature
600g cream cheese
150g caster sugar
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
300ml tub sour cream
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Either use a food processor or place the biscuits in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to pulverise. Add the butter and rub into the pulverised biscuits till they resemble breadcrumbs.

2. Line the bottom of a 20cm springform cake tin and press the biscuits in with your hands, making sure to compact them right into the edges. Put the base in the fridge to set and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

3. Beat the cream cheese till it’s as soft as creamed butter, then add the sugar and beat in again. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk, then the vanilla and then the lemon juice. Put an almost full kettle on to boil at this stage.

4. Remove the cake tin from the fridge and wrap the outside of the tin 3 times with strong foil, making sure to alternate short and tall sides of the foil (since it’s rectangular and all…uhh…yeah…). This prevents water from getting into the cake tin, which will make the biscuit base soggy and disgusting. Pour cream cheese mix into the chilled cake tin and place into a roasting dish.

5. Pour the boiling water into the roasting dish so it comes up halfway around the cake tin – bear in mind that less is better than more as overfilling will make removing the cake tin difficult. Place the whole thing in the oven and bake for 50 minutes till it feels set when you lightly touch the surface, and it wobbles like a set jelly.

6. Whilst the cake is baking, beat together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. If your sour cream is as thick and solid as mine, you may want to zap it in the microwave for a few seconds till it liquefies, as otherwise it will be a bit blobby on top of the cake. Once the cake has set, pour the sour cream mix on top of the cake and bake for a further 10 minutes.

7. Remove the cake from the oven, unwrap the foil and stand it on a rack to cool. Once it has cooled completely, leave it to set in the fridge for about 4-6 hours as it helps to make the cake more solid and the flavours meld together. Remove 15 minutes before serving to take the edge off the coldness. Unmould and use a knife which has been run under hot water to cut and serve

Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients
1 cup blueberries
2-3 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 cup water

Blend the blueberries and run the puree through a fine sieve to remove the seeds and skin bits. Pour the sieved puree into a small, heavy bottomed saucepan and stir in the sugar and water. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the liquid to a simmer while stirring constantly till the sugar has dissolved, then leave the liquid to simmer till the mixture has considerably thickened and become sticky and syrupy, and tastes like blueberry jam. Allow to cool before pouring over cheesecake slices as a most impressive adornment!

[tags]Nigella Lawson, Cheesecake, baking, recipes, blueberries, dessert, food[/tags]

• Indigo from Happy Love Strawberry

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