Let's bake a cheesecake

Before moving to the US I had never baked a cheesecake, cheesecakes were set in the fridge overnight following the British modus operandi. Living in NYC we had to adjust our way of making cheesecake, we are now baked cheesecake pros! This recipe has been approved by the grand cheesecake guru Tim.

Cheesecake

• 4 generous cheesecakes - 10 cm diameter springform pan
• Preparation: 30 min
• Oven: base 165 ℃ | filling 150 ℃
• Cooking time: 2 hours 15

Ingredients

Base

• 150g digestive style biscuits
• 60g salted butter
• 20g optional sugar depending on your biscuits, I typically don’t add any

Filling

• 350g cream cheese
• 70g sugar (to be adjusted if you have a sweet tooth)
• 120 mL sour cream
• 40 mL lemon juice
• 1 lemon zest
• 3 large eggs

Lemon Curd

• 50 mL lemon juice
• 1 lemon zest
• 3 eggs
• 50g sugar
• 40g salted butter

Let’s mix everything

Base

1. Preheat your oven to 165 ℃.
2. Melt butter (in the microwave if you are in a rush and brave - it is always a disaster for me, the butter explodes everywhere and I am very upset - otherwise the old-fashioned pan on the gas works well too).
3. Smash your biscuits into small pieces - you can use a rolling pin like a mortar and crush everything. If you have a kitchen assistant, he can be responsible for this highly technical task.
4. Mix together the smashed biscuits and the butter until well combined.
5. Press the mixture into the bottom of your springform pan - use a fork or a spoon to press it down, no need to be super precise.
6. Bake for 10 min then set aside to cool down.

Optional: Cover the outside of the pan with aluminium foil to prepare for a water bath.

Filling

1. Reduce the oven temperature to 150 ℃.
2. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar on low speed (to reduce the amount of air we incorporate into the mixture) until smooth. Careful, this is a highly risky step for your top and your kitchen in general, I always put the bowl in the sink to avoid splatters.
3. Add the sour cream, lemon juice and lemon zest, and mix.
4. Pour the cheesecake batter into the crust and spread evenly.
5. If you use the water bath technique, place in a larger pan.
6. Bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes.
7. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 15 min.
8. Open the oven door and leave the cheesecake inside for 20 minutes.
9. Remove the cheesecake, let it cool down for 15/20 minutes.
10. Refrigerate the cheesecake until completely cooled and firm, 5 to 6 hours for my individual cheesecakes.

Lemon Curd

Depending on your motivation you can make it or buy it ready-made (like jam).

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot and create a water bath. Be careful to not boil the water.
2. Constantly whisk the mixture until you get something thick. If you have a cooking thermometer (I never wanted to buy one thinking it is useless till Tim bought one and I think it is an amazing purchase, it is so useful) you want to reach 70 ℃ that way you are sure the eggs are cooked enough and can be kept in the fridge for few days.