Cheesecake From Scratch
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Now, you can go ahead and call me WICKED for ruining that fitness regimen of yours. I couldn’t help but, share this super simple and super quick recipe for delicious, homemade cheesecake. So, without much rambling, here’s your shortcut to blissful indulgence! Evil me! 
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Ingredients
4 packs of 250 gram cream cheese (unsalted and natural flavour. I use Philadelphia, light)
250 grams sour cream
50 grams unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup regular, refined white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
250 grams plain vanilla biscuits
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon or orange zest (rind)
Method
Ok, so let’s get started. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease your baking pan and set aside. Cheese cakes are best baked in a round spring foam pan with a removable rim so that it does not mess the sides of the cake when transferring to a cake stand for serving.
In a large mixing bowl, blend the melted butter and brown sugar (brown, simply because you want the crust to be a nice golden brown with no traces of white) until it is nice and incorporated and somewhat resembles wet sand mixture. Crumble the biscuits till it looks like bread crumbs either using a blender or just your fingers. Now, add this to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Transfer this mixture to your baking pan and flatten it out until nice and even. You could use a flat bottom glass or bowl as an aid. Refrigerate this for about 20 minutes. I know some people also choose to bake this for about 5 to 10 minutes. (Really doesn't matter as you will be baking the entire cake anyway in a while. So, for now I'd just leave it alone in the refrigerator while I get my batter ready).
Meanwhile, in the same mixing bowl used earlier on, add in the cream cheese (ensure the cheese is at room temperature, just easier to work with), sour cream, eggs, white sugar, vanilla extract and lemon rind. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Blend this really well for a minute or two. I use my electric hand blender, which gives me a nice, creamy consistency within a minute or two. But you sure want to beware not to over mix this as it will incorporate air, which could lead to cracks in the cake. Of course, a little crack is not harmful. But you want to avoid it as much as you can. So, for a hand blender, a minute or two of mixing is good. If you are using a whisk, probably it will take you a minute longer to reach a thick, creamy consistency.
Pour the filling over the biscuit crust and smoothen it out. Now, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remember everyone’s oven is different. It may take you lesser or longer time depending on your oven. A good way to know is to check after an hour if the sides of the cake are well baked and the centre is a little wobbly. If yes, you can stop the baking process.
Remove and cool completely. Once cool, leave it in the refrigerator to set overnight.
Voila, your cheesecake from scratch, ready to devour? Aha, not as yet. Patience! I know that’s a tad too much to ask for after you’ve been waiting overnight, but don’t you want some colour?
I like making my cake pretty and colourful with some plum, raspberry or cherry sauce and fruits. But, really go ahead and get creative with your presentation ideas. I had some homemade raspberry jam sitting in my refrigerator (See homemade raspberry jam for the recipe). So, I spread a little jam on top of my cheesecake and threw in some raspberries and blackberries for that dash of colour. Actually, also for a pretty picture for Kookiekooks.com! :)
Bye for now…and devour that evil cake until its last crumb!
4 packs of 250 gram cream cheese (unsalted and natural flavour. I use Philadelphia, light)
250 grams sour cream
50 grams unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup regular, refined white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
250 grams plain vanilla biscuits
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon or orange zest (rind)
Method
Ok, so let’s get started. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease your baking pan and set aside. Cheese cakes are best baked in a round spring foam pan with a removable rim so that it does not mess the sides of the cake when transferring to a cake stand for serving.
In a large mixing bowl, blend the melted butter and brown sugar (brown, simply because you want the crust to be a nice golden brown with no traces of white) until it is nice and incorporated and somewhat resembles wet sand mixture. Crumble the biscuits till it looks like bread crumbs either using a blender or just your fingers. Now, add this to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Transfer this mixture to your baking pan and flatten it out until nice and even. You could use a flat bottom glass or bowl as an aid. Refrigerate this for about 20 minutes. I know some people also choose to bake this for about 5 to 10 minutes. (Really doesn't matter as you will be baking the entire cake anyway in a while. So, for now I'd just leave it alone in the refrigerator while I get my batter ready).
Meanwhile, in the same mixing bowl used earlier on, add in the cream cheese (ensure the cheese is at room temperature, just easier to work with), sour cream, eggs, white sugar, vanilla extract and lemon rind. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Blend this really well for a minute or two. I use my electric hand blender, which gives me a nice, creamy consistency within a minute or two. But you sure want to beware not to over mix this as it will incorporate air, which could lead to cracks in the cake. Of course, a little crack is not harmful. But you want to avoid it as much as you can. So, for a hand blender, a minute or two of mixing is good. If you are using a whisk, probably it will take you a minute longer to reach a thick, creamy consistency.
Pour the filling over the biscuit crust and smoothen it out. Now, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remember everyone’s oven is different. It may take you lesser or longer time depending on your oven. A good way to know is to check after an hour if the sides of the cake are well baked and the centre is a little wobbly. If yes, you can stop the baking process.
Remove and cool completely. Once cool, leave it in the refrigerator to set overnight.
Voila, your cheesecake from scratch, ready to devour? Aha, not as yet. Patience! I know that’s a tad too much to ask for after you’ve been waiting overnight, but don’t you want some colour?
I like making my cake pretty and colourful with some plum, raspberry or cherry sauce and fruits. But, really go ahead and get creative with your presentation ideas. I had some homemade raspberry jam sitting in my refrigerator (See homemade raspberry jam for the recipe). So, I spread a little jam on top of my cheesecake and threw in some raspberries and blackberries for that dash of colour. Actually, also for a pretty picture for Kookiekooks.com! :)
Bye for now…and devour that evil cake until its last crumb!
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