Step-by-step Cheesecake

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A creamy cheesecake is one of those decadent sweet treats that everybody should make at least once. Learn how with our step-by-step guide.

The perfect cheesecake is a lesson in subtlety and contrasts of texture and taste. Here, a biscuit base is juxtaposed with a tangy lemon-cream filling. While there is some written evidence that the Romans may have eaten a kind of cheesecake, the earliest recorded recipe dates from the 14th century and is remarkably similar to today’s versions. A variety of cheeses are used to make cheesecakes throughout the world – the Italians favour fresh curd cheese such as ricotta while Eastern Europeans like quark. The Americans typically use cream cheese and can also lay claim to having the largest number of recipes, with frozen, gelatine-set and baked versions in hundreds of flavours in their repertoire. The best cheesecakes are often the simplest, where the smooth, light flavour of the cheese is balanced by delicate flavourings such as vanilla or citrus. Serve this cheesecake with one of our suggested sauces, or enjoy it plain.

You will need

• 250g pkt Nice biscuits
• 2 tbs firmly packed brown sugar
• 125g unsalted butter, melted
• 3 x 250g pkts cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• 2 lemons
• 1 / 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 / 2 cup (125ml) pouring cream

Serves 8

1. Process biscuits and sugar in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter and process until combined. Using your hands, press mixture over the base and sides of a 22cm non-stick springform tin, finishing 1cm from top. Using the base of a glass, press to smooth the base. Chill for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 220 ˚ C. Place cream cheese and sugar in a bowl then grate lemon rind over. Juice lemons and add to cream cheese mixture with vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat until just smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add egg yolk and beat until just combined. Stir in cream.
3. Wrap base of tin with foil and place on an oven tray. Pour mixture into tin until level with top of crumbs. Bake on lowest shelf for 10 minutes. Reduce to 150 ˚C and bake for 25-30 minutes or until mixture is almost set. Leave cake to cool with oven door slightly open. Cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

Tips and tricks

To soften cream cheese, chop into small pieces then place into a bowl and stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Alternatively, microwave on medium-high power for 30 seconds.

For a smooth, crack-free top, before cooking, gently bang the cake pan on a work surface to release any air pockets. Also, avoid over beating the mixture which will aerate it. Cooling the cake in the turned off oven helps too.

To determine if the cake is cooked enough, gently shake the pan; the mixture in the centre should wobble like a jelly. Keep in mind that the cake will continue to cook in the residual heat of the turned off oven.

A trick to make it easier to transfer the finished cake from its base, to a plate, is to place the base upside down in the cake pan when cooking. This eliminates the lip, making it easier to slide a spatula underneath later.

Other types of biscuits may require more melted butter.

Bonus recipe: Marmalade and passionfruit sauce

Stir 1 cup orange marmalade and ½ cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Stir in pulp of 3 passionfruit. Cool then pour over cooled cheesecake.

Recipe & styling: Sophia Young. Photography: Andrew Lehmann. Food preparation: Lisa Featherby.