NEW YORK CHEESE CAKE

Recipe tested and photo:  Leanne Thurston Coetzer

• Base:
• 310 ml cake flour
• 3 ml baking powder
• 125 g butter or margarine
• 60 ml castor sugar
• 1 extra large egg yolk
• Filling:
• 750 g smooth cream cheese
• 375 ml castor sugar
• 5 ml caramel or vanilla essence
• 45 ml cake flour
• 4 extra large eggs, beaten
• 60 ml fresh cream
• Base:
• Sift flour and baking powder together, rub in butter with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add castor sugar and egg yolk and knead lightly to a soft pastry.
• Grease and line a 23 cm loose-bottom springform pan, press out pastry onto paper base and side of pan.
• Bake blind in a pre-heated oven at 190 ºC for about 10 minutes.
• Leave to cool slightly.
• Filling:
• Whisk cream cheese, castor sugar, essence and flour until smooth.
• Gradually add eggs and stir in lightly with cream.
• Pour filling into pastry base and bake in a preheated oven at 160 ºC for 10 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to 140 ºC and bake further for 70 minutes.
• Switch off oven and leave in oven for another 15 minutes.
• Leave to cool in pan, remove.
• Remove from pan and decorate with fresh fruit of choice.