Classic Cheesecake
Ever since I can remember, my mom used to make her famous cheesecake and this is the very first cake I’ve ever had. Our whole family is crazy about cheesecakes in general and hers in particular. My friends used to come over the weekends, asking whether my mom baked a cheesecake, or whether we have some cheesecake left from the weekend (Yeah, I sometime had the feeling I wasn’t the main reason for their visit, haha).
Few months ago my mom invited some of my (childhood) friends for dinner. They agreed to come only if she’s going to prepare her famous cheesecake for dessert.
The following recipe is not her famous cheesecake, but a very similar one. Though the texture of my cake and hers are completely different, since we live in different countries hence different cheeses. I was using low fat (6%) cream cheese while preparing the cake, available in almost every supermarket across europe (Philadelphia type of cheese). The texture of the cake is very creamy inside. Divine!
Back to my childhood cheesecakes, I remember sometimes the cake just sank after taken out of the oven. Before I baked my first cheesecake, I was searching for tips on how to keep my cheesecake tall and firm and prevent it from sinking. Here are the 2 tricks I put into practice and I must say I was very happy to discover they did the job:
(1) Place a tin with hot water at the bottom of the oven or place the cake tin inside a wider round tin (such as 28c one)
(2) Bake the cake in 220c for the first 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160c and bake for another hour.
Good luck!
You’ll need:
- 23cm springform tin
For the crust (makes 2 crust quantities):
- 120g butter
- 180g brown sugar
- 200g flour
- 40g cocoa powder (Optional)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Note: I use a hand mixer to prepare the crust. In case your kitchen is better equipped than mine and you have a mixer, use the K beater.
For the filling:
- 750g cream cheese
- 200ml sour cream
- 4 egg whites (I dared to add the 1 egg white left from the crust, which made my cake 5 egg-whites cake)
- 4 egg yolks
- 250g sugar
- 60g flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the vanilla cream frosting (optional):
- 200ml whipping cream
- 3 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
How to:
The crust:
(1) Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together
(2) Add the egg and egg yolk and mix well
(3) Add the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix until the mixture shapes into a dough
(4) Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
(5) Preheat oven to 170c
(6) Roll out half of the dough and fit it into the base of your tin using your hands ( The other half can be kept in the frizzer for your next cheesecake or another cake)
(7) Pierce the dough with a fork
(8) Place the tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes
(9) Remove the tin from the oven and place onto a wire rack
The filling:
(1) Preheat oven to 180c and place a tin with hot water at the bottom of it
(2) Whisk the egg whites using a mixer, while gradually adding 100g of the sugar, until well firmed and fluffed. move to another bowl.
(3) Place the egg yolks and remaining sugar in the mixer bowl and mix until pale and fluffy
(4) Add the cheese, sour cream and vanilla and continue mixing
(5) Add the flour and keep mixing until the mixture is smooth (don’t use your hand mixer at this stage, in order to prevent the flour powdering you)
(6) Fold the whipped egg whites into the cheese mixture
(7) Rise the oven temperature to 220c
(8) Pour the mixture into the crusted tin
(9) Bake for 5 minutes in 220c
(10) LOWER the temperature to 160c and bake for one hour
The frosting:
(1) Whisk the cream and gradually add the sugar and vanilla, until standing in soft peaks
(2) After the cake had cooled down, spread the frosting over the top of the cake, using a palette knife or spatula
(3) Allow to set in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving
Serving: vanilla ice cream, of course. Berries purée is another good addition for this cake.
Tags: cheesecake