A rich New York-style baked cheesecake with a deep vanilla flavour and a crunchy sugar topping. Served with a fresh, fruity raspberry sauce to compliment the creamy sweetness of the cheesecake.

SERVES 10-12

INGREDIENTS

Cheesecake

  • 85g butter plus a little extra to grease the tin
  • 225g digestive biscuits, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean pod
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 400ml soured cream
  • 600g soft cream cheese (2 x 300g packs)
  • Zest 1 lemon
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 40g plain flour, sifted
  • 4 eggs

Sugar topping

  • 3 tablespoons golden caster sugar

Raspberry Sauce

  • 300g fresh raspberries
  • 4 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 125ml of cold water

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas Mark 3

1. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the crushed biscuits. Stir in the Demerara sugar and combine. Lightly butter the springform tin and pour in the crushed biscuit mixture. Press down flat to cover the entire base and allow the biscuit mixture to come a little way up the sides of the tin. Chill whilst you make the filling.

2. Cut the vanilla bean in two lengthwise and extract the seeds by running the blade of a knife along the inside of each piece. Place the seeds into a large bowl and blend with the vanilla extract. Add the soured cream, cream cheese, lemon zest and sugar to the vanilla and beat together. Stir in the sifted flour and beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Pour the filling on top of the chilled base and bake for 55-60 minutes. The cake should be firm when cooked but still have a slight wobble in the centre. Cool and place into the refrigerator until well chilled. A minimum of 3 hours is required for the cake to develop the desired texture.

4. To make the raspberry sauce place the sugar, lemon juice, cornflour and water into a small saucepan and gently heat whilst stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened. Carefully stir the raspberries into the sauce and continue to cook for a few seconds more until the fruit is well coated but not broken down. Pour the sauce into a serving dish and cover.

5. Once the cake is chilled unclip and remove the outer part of the springform tin and place the cake with its base on to a baking sheet. Sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of caster sugar evenly over the top of the cake and caramelize by either using a cook’s blow torch or placing under a hot grill for a few minutes. Slide the cake from the base onto a serving plate and chill until required

6. Serve the cheesecake with the raspberry sauce

Cook’s notes

  • Don’t discard the vanilla pod as it can be used to make vanilla sugar. Simply add to sugar in an airtight container and leave to infuse.
  • For an extra special sauce try substituting 2 of the tablespoons of water with raspberry liquor.
  • Chilling the cheesecake for a long period of time may result in the sugar topping becoming softened.