American baked cheesecake
Lashings of cream cheese turns this dessert into an American beauty. Baking the cheesecake base first will also ensure it tastes as good as it looks. A classic American baked cheesecake that's well worth the effort
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Prep time: 40 mins
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Cooking time: 1 hr 35 mins
(plus chilling time for the biscuit base) -
Total time: 2 hrs 15 mins
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Makes: A 20cm cheesecake
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Skill level: Bit of effort
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Costs: Cheap as chips
Ingredients
This cheesecake tastes great served with a generous helping of good-quality cherry compote, or fresh raspberries if you prefer.
For the base:
- 175g (6oz) digestive biscuits
- 55g (2oz) butter, melted
For the filling:
- 125g (4½ oz) butter
- 85g (3oz) caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 2 large eggs, separated
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4tbsp double cream
- 500g (1lb 2oz) mascarpone softened at room temperature
To decorate:
- Sifted icing sugar
Method
- Grease the sides of a 20cm (8in) springform tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Crush the digestive biscuits to fine crumbs. Stir in the melted butter and mix well. Spoon into the prepared tin and press down firmly with a metal spoon. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
- Cream the butter and caster sugar together with the vanilla essence until fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks and the lemon juice. Add the cream and the softened mascarpone. Beat again. Whisk the egg whites until just stiff and fold into the mixture. Pour on to the biscuit base and level the surface.
- Bake in the oven preheated to 170°C (325ºF, gas mark 3) for 1¼-1½ hours. When cooked, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool, leaving the door ajar. Then carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin (if it happens to crack on top, just smooth it with a palette knife!) and dust with sifted icing sugar.
Nutritional information
Guideline Daily Amount for 2,000 calories per day are: 70g fat, 20g saturated fat, 90g sugar, 6g salt.
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Your comments
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Debbie, posted 8 months ago
The cheesecake looks beautiful and a lot easier than the usual recipes i've seen. But just a query...can i use philadelphia cream cheese as a substitute to the mascarpone? I already have the philly in the fridge. Also...can i use sour cream instead of the double cream? We dont seem to have double cream here in italy. Cheers
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Matt Lynch, posted 1 year ago
Don't you think it would be a good idea to tell people to leave the oven door ajar when leaving the cheesecake to cool to prevent burning??!! You idiots.
