Tuesday- Manhattan Cheesecake

"The king of cheesecake, and every local cafe, restaurant or shop will have this traditional Big Apple classic. You can serve it with a variety of fruit compotes." 

~Eric Lanlard, Home Bake 

I always have such a hard time choosing cheesecake. Put me in front of a cheesecake display, and I'll go numb. It would take ages to get to the right one, which usually either flavored or topped with fruit, nuts, or drizzled with chocolate. Frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of plain and dull-looking cheesecake, except for this one. This is the one that I like and dislike the most he he Plain, yet so rich and creamy. 

Verdict-The base crust is thick and not soggy, which I like. The filling part is creamy and tangy, a cheesecake taste that I always after.. but thumbs down to the soured cream topping..ugh..wished I had a tin of sweet cherries to eat this along with. 

Psst..I have not been in a mood to do any blogging-related thing lately. I'm having a writing, cooking and foodographying block..naah 3 in 1.. ;p I'll write, cook and foodograph some more when the mojo is back.. ;)

Psst..Psst..I'm going back to Melaka this weekend and will stay there for 2 weeks!! Yippee!! But before that, since my husband had to fly somewhere during that weeks, I had to settle with MAJOR ironing job first.. isk isk...

Manhattan Cheesecake

{Adapted from Eric Landlard, from Home Bake recipebook}

Serves 10-12

Preparation time:20  minutes+resting and chilling

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the base:

75g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

300g digestive biscuit, crushed

For the filling:

1kg cream cheese (the drier the better)

250g caster sugar

3tsp plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 large eggs

300ml soured cream

For the topping:

150ml soured cream

1tbsp caster sugar

icing sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the base and side of a 23cm or 9 inch springform cake tin with extra butter, and line the base with baking paper

2. For the base, melt the butter in medium pan and stir it into the biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cool on the wire rack while preparing for the filling

3. For the filling, increase oven temp to 220C

4. In a mixer fitted the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium low speed until creamy, about 2 mins. Then gradually add the sugar, then the flour. Continue by adding the vanilla and lemon zest and juice, then whisk in the eggs, one at the time. stir in the soured cream until well blended. the batter should be smooth, light and somewhat airy. 

5. Pour the filling into the prepared tin. The top should be as smooth as possible. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins. Reduce the oven temp to 140C and bake for 25 mins more. if you shake the tin, the filling should have a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside the oven with door closed. The cheesecake may get a slight crack on top as it cools.

6. For the topping, combine the soured cream and caster sugar. Spread over the cold cheesecake right to the edges, then refrigerate overnight. Dust with icing before serving.