NEW YORK CHEESECAKE
- Base:
- 2 packet Tennis biscuits
- 150 g butter, melted
- Filling:
- 4 tubs full fat cream cheese (900 g)
- 1 ⅓ cups castor sugar (270 g)
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup sour cream (160 ml)
- ⅔ cup cream (160 ml)
Base:
Pre-heat oven to 175º C.
Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a food processor.
Melt the butter in the microwave and all to the crumbed biscuits.
Mix well and ensure that the butter is absorbed into the biscuit crumbs.
Thoroughly grease the bottom of a spring-form cake tin and spread the base out evenly, pressing the base up the sides of the tin.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake at 175º C for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, wrap in three layers of tin foil for water bath.
Lower the oven temperature to 160º C.
Filling:
Cut the cream cheese into chunks and place in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes until smooth, soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for 4 minutes more.
Add the salt and vanilla, mixing just until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed for 30 seconds after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and scrape up any thicker bits of cream cheese that have stuck to the bottom.
Add the sour cream and mix on medium speed until incorporated.
Add the heavy cream and mix on low speed until incorporated.
Pour the cream cheese filling into the springform pan, over the biscuit base. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Place the foil-wrapped springform pan in a large, high-sided roasting pan. Prepare 2 liters of boiling water.
Place the roasting pan with the springform pan in it into the oven on the lower rack.
Without touching the hot oven, carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan to create a water bath for the cheesecake, pouring until the water reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan, about 1 ¼ inches.
Bake at 160º C for 1 ½ hours.
Turn the oven off and crack open the oven door 1 inch.
Let the cheesecake cool in the oven, as the oven cools for another hour.
This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake surface from cracking.
Carefully cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, so it doesn’t actually touch the cheesecake.
Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
Decorate with assortment of berries before serving.
Recipe and photo: Michelé Anne Holland Bentley
