J-zine - Cheesecake

Cheesecake

Cheescake is a wonderfully rich desert. This is my favourite recipe. It originates from Gourmet magazine. Marit Lundeby taught me to make it richer by adding sour cream, but for my taste, it then becomes too rich, so I added some slices of apple on the bottom to counter the richness.

This recipe requires a Pate Sucrée base and a fruit topping, for which separate recipes are given.

2 1/2 lbs (1.2 kg) Cream cheese (Kraft Philadelphia is best)
1 3/4 cups (420 ml) sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon grated orange peel (or grated lemon peel)
(1/2 lime or small lemon. Squeeze and use the juice)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
pinch salt
2 (large) egg yolks
5 (large) eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) sour cream
1 medium-sized sharp green apple (e.g Granny Smith)

Turn on the oven and preheat it to 450 °F (225 °C). Make the base and keep it ready in the refrigerator.

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, flour, grated orange peel (and the lime/lemon juice, if you are using it), vanilla sugar and salt and beat the mixture until it is well combined. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and stir in the sour cream.

Peel and slice the apple. Arrange the slices over the cake base. Pour the batter gently onto the base and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes. Reduce the oven to slow - 300 °F (150 °C) and bake for one more hour. Cool the cake on a rack for at least 20 mins. To reduce the inevitable fall, turn off the oven when the cake is baked and let it cool down in the oven for 1 hour before removing it. Let the cake cool completely (preferably in the refrigerator over night) before adding the topping.

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