I love a good cheesecake and New York cheesecake is one of those recipes that is good for any occasion. It has a beautiful, light and creamy texture. For special occasions I decorate it and serve in a form of a torte. I also like to add some fruits on the bottom - my favourite ones are canned peaches.
This is my foolproof recipe to get a perfect flat top cake every time:
Ingredients
base:
150g of crushed plain biscuits (digestive)
85g of melted butter
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
cheese batter:
1kg of cream cheese (Philadelphia style)
150g of sugar
5 eggs
40g of cornstarch
1/2 tsp of salt
80ml of double cream or sour cream
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract or paste
zest of 1 lemon
2ml of orange oil or zest of 1/2 orange
small can of peaches (optional)
Methode
Preheat the oven to 160oC.
Crash the biscuits into tiny pieces (I usually use blender or food processor). Combine the crushed biscuits, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well. The mixture should be a bit sticky.
Prepare the baking form by brushing the sides with some butter and cover the outer bottom part with aluminium foil to avoid any spills.
Place the biscuit mixture on the bottom of a baking form. Distribute evenly and press well so it sticks together and create a 1 cm high rim on the sides.
Bake for max 8 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool, then you can put it in the fridge while preparing the cheese batter.
Rise the oven temperature to 220oC.
Put the cream cheese in the mixing bowl. (I definitely recommend to use a stand mixer for this cake if you have one). Mix on a low speed until very fluffy - around 5 minutes. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl as well as whipping attachment to avoid any unmixed lumps - they will not dissolve while baking. I usually scrape every 2 minutes during the whole process.
Add sugar, cornflour and a bit of salt and mix until well incorporated.. Remember to scrape the bowl.
Beat the eggs. Add eggs in 3 parts mixing in between to combine well. Scrape the bowl as well.
Add cream, lemon zest, vanilla and orange zest or oil. Mix well. Scrape the bowl at least once in the meantime.
If you are using the peaches, place them on the baked bottom of the cake.
Pour the cheese batter slowly on the baked bottom. You can shake it or even tap lightly on the worktop to remove any air bubbles. Even out the top of the batter.
Put the form in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the very top starts to brown.
Lower the temperature to 100oC and bake for another 1h 15 minutes.
turn off the oven and let the cake stay in it for 30 minutes. Then open the door and leave the cake for another 15 minutes. In this way the cake will not have any temperature shock and will not brake or deflate.
After removing the cake from the oven separate the sides of the cake from the form with a knife. Set aside for at least 8 hours. If you place the cheesecake in the fridge it will set a bit more and will be less fluffy.
Serve as you wish.
Enjoy!!