Don't freak out about the amount of cream cheese used, as I say, it's very rich so that means you only need to eat a small portion at a time (well, that's the theory!)
As with all baked cheesecakes, this needs to be started the day before you're planning to eat it.
Ingredients
900g cream cheese (yes, really!) - It helps if the cream cheese is at room temperature before you begin.
190g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
Base
140g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
50g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
You'll also need some extra-wide tinfoil, and a 23cm round springform tin, greased and base-lined with baking paper.
Method
Preheat the oven to 150C.
For the base: Beat together the flour, baking powder, sugar and butter, until you get a sandy consistency. Add the egg yolk and mix through - it will still be sandy but it will be a little more moist. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared tin, using the ball of your hand or a tablespoon to flatten and compress it. It must be pressed down to form a dense base.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. It should have lost its sandy texture and come together to form a coherent base. Set aside to cool.
Put the cream cheese , sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat on slow speed until you get a very smooth, thick mixture. This can be done with a handheld electric beater, but because the mixture is so thick, I find it so much easier with a freestanding electric mixer. Add one egg at a time, while still mixing. Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after adding the second and last eggs. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy. The mixer can be turned to a higher speed at the end to make the mix a little lighter and fluffier, but be careful not to overmix otherwise the cheese will split.
Spoon the mixture on to the cold cheesecake base. Carefully tear off two big pieces of tin foil and place them on top of each other. Stand the tin in the middle, and fold up the foil around the sides of the tin, being careful not to tear the foil at all. Place the tin in a deep baking tray and fill with water until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the cake tin. This is why it's important to use extra-wide foil instead of the normal stuff - water can seep into any seams or tears in the foil, and will result in a soggy cheesecake! Bake for 30-40 minutes. It will still be wobbly in the centre, but don't panic! This is perfectly normal. Don't overcook. Some recipes tell you to leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool, but not this one. I tried that once, and the end result wasn't pleasant. Take the tin out of its water bath and leave to cool slightly in the tin. Cover, then refrigerate overnight before serving. It will set into a perfect cheesecake overnight!
Turning out the cheesecake.
This recipe is divine on its own, but I like to serve it with an easy peasy raspberry coulis.
Raspberry coulis
This is a great little sauce for adding to ice cream or chocolate brownies - it keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks. The recipe is from Assemble by Annabel Langbein.
Ingredients
250g frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp water
Method
Place berries in a saucepan with sugar and water. Slowly bring to simmering point over medium heat. Remove from the heat and quickly pulse a few times in a food processor to loosely blend. Strain through a sieve to remove seeds. Pour hot coulis into a clean jar. Leave to cool at room temperature.
Yum.
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