Baked Cheesecake

Shot of cheesecake decorated with cream and fruit.

For a special dessert to end a meal, try my Classic Baked Cheesecake. When I'm entertaining, this is one of my favourite desserts to make, as it is always a hit with friends and family. It is the ideal dessert to make in advance, and is much easier than you may think!

Course Dessert

Cuisine International

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Chill Time 4 hours

Total Time 5 hours 5 minutes

Servings people

Calories 618kcal

Author Alexandra

Ingredients

Base:

150 g (5 oz) plain sweet biscuits - eg: granita, digestives See Note 1
60 g (¼ cup) butter - melted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

500 g (1 lb) cream cheese - at room temperature See Note 2
220 g (1 cup) caster/superfine sugar
4 large eggs - at room temperature See Note 2
60 ml (¼ cup) lemon juice - freshly squeezed
3 teaspoon lemon zest See Note 3
1 teaspoon vanilla See Note 4

Topping:

300 ml (1 ¼ cups) whipping cream - whipped to soft peaks
fresh fruit, berries or jam

Instructions

Lightly grease a 20 cm (8 inch) spring-form tin with butter and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Leave the overhang of the baking paper; it will make it easier to remove the cheesecake.
In a food processor, crush biscuits finely, and combine with melted butter and cinnamon.
Press the crumb mixture firmly into the base of the prepared tin – use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base.
Preheat your oven to 150 Degrees C (300 F).
Using handheld electric beaters and a medium-size bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor, beat the cream cheese until smooth – this is essential to avoid lumps in your cheesecake.
Add in the sugar and mix until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
Be careful not to overmix as too much air can cause your cheesecake to crack.
Pour the mixture onto your biscuit base and bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes.
To test if the cheesecake is cooked, take a potholder, open the oven door, and give the baking tin a gentle wobble. If the cheesecake is set around the edges and has a small portion in the centre that slightly “jiggles”, it is done. It will firm up as it cools.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and turn off the power. Carefully run a knife around the edge to prevent it from sticking to the side of the tin. As it cools, it will contract. If the edge of the cheesecake remains stuck to the tin, cracks may form. Return the cheesecake to the oven, and with the door slightly ajar, leave it to cool in the oven to avoid cracking.
Remove from the oven and chill completely in the fridge for 4 hours or even overnight. If leaving overnight, cover the tin well with cling wrap.
Once chilled, remove from the tin, and place on a plate or cake stand. Decorate with cream and berries.

Video

Notes

This recipe is easily adapted to gluten-free – just use gluten-free biscuits/cookies in the base.
It is essential that your cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature. This will ensure that your mixture is smooth and creamy. If your try to beat cold cheese, you will not be able to remove all the lumps.
When removing the lemon zest, try to avoid the bitter, white pith.
For the best flavour, use good quality vanilla extracted from vanilla beans and not synthetically flavoured.
If using fresh fruit or berries, dust them with icing sugar a few minutes before serving – it will give a lovely shine!
Please note, the nutritional information is based on eight serves. It does not include what fruit, jam etc. you top the cake with. The nutritional information is an estimate only.

Nutrition