Cheesecake is one of life’s simple pleasures. Baked or set, savoury or sweet, the variations on this classic dessert are endless. I have fond memories of strawberry cheesecake, gelatinous and sweet, with a slightly artificial Angel Delight kind of texture and flavour to it. I loved it because I didn’t know any better and I never really knew about proper baked cheesecake until I was an adult and began making my own.
Looking back, that claggy pink strawberry number with a rosette of cream piped on top really was no match for a decent home-made version. Cheesecake was the one dessert that took time for me to truly perfect, even as a professional pastry chef, and I tried and tested many recipes to get it just right. This week’s recipe is my version of Goldilocks’s perfect porridge: not too sweet, not too soft, it has a perfect texture and it is just right.
I have written a few recipes for cheesecake in this column, my lemon cheesecake bars and burnt Basque cheesecake recipes are firm favourites, but you can’t beat a proper vanilla version. It’s got that New York-baked cheesecake air to it, with a classic biscuit base, soothing vanilla and a twist of lemon to add a little brightness without being overpowering. I also add sour cream, this gives a wonderful tang that you didn’t know you needed in a cheesecake.
There are a few tricks here to get the bake perfect, but it also depends on how you like yours. Once it’s baked, you can turn off the oven and leave it there, with the door closed, for about two hours. This gives the cheesecake an ever so slightly dry, firmer texture or you can leave the door slightly open, which results in a perfectly set cheesecake with a soft creamy centre. I prefer the latter. Either way, it has to chill before you dive in, and this is non-negotiable.
I also bake it in a bain-marie: a baking tin placed in a larger tin with the addition of boiling water. This water bath allows the cheesecake to cook evenly, keeps it gorgeously creamy, and helps prevent it cracking.
While the steps here seem time consuming, they are worth it for the most perfect vanilla cheesecake. You can watch me make this cheesecake, and cook along with me, tomorrow at 3pm on the Irish Times Food Facebook page.
Recipe: Baked vanilla cheesecake
