Festive Cheesecake

Remember those cute little Baby Cheesecakes I introduced you to a while ago? Well meet Mamma. All dressed up for a party. Isn't she beautiful?

PS. I took half of it to a friends house so it could haunt them instead of me.

NOTE: You'll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.



Festive Cheesecake
adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess

For the Base:
150g shortbread biscuits
75g unsalted butter (melted or very soft)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Filling:
600g cream cheese
150g gcaster sugar
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
11/2 tablespoon lemon juice

For the Topping:
150ml sour cream
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To Decorate:

I used:

Ferrero Rafaello

Red and green jelly beans

Red and Green chocolate baubles

White sprinkles

White mini marshmallows

White chocolate truffles

Make the Base:
Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add cinnamon and the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of a 20cm springform tin, pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set, and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Make the Filling:Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer gently until it's smooth, then add the sugar. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, then finally the vanilla and lemon juice. Put the kettle on.

Line the outside of the chilled tin with strong foil so that it covers the bottom and sides in one large piece, and then do the same again and put it into a roasting dish. This will protect the cheesecake from the water as it is cooked in its water bath.

Pour the cream-cheese filling into the chilled biscuit base, and then pour hot water from the recently boiled kettle into the roasting tin around the cheesecake. It should come about halfway up; don't overfill as it will be difficult to lift up the tin. Put it into the oven and cook for 50 minutes. It should feel set, but not rigidly so: you just need to feel confident that when you pour the sour cream over, it will sit on the surface and not sink in. 

Make the Topping:

Whisk together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla for the topping and pour over the cheesecake. Put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven, then gingerly remove the tin from the water, unwrap it and stand it on a rack to cool. When it's cooled down completely, put it in the fridge, removing it 20 minutes before eating to take the chill off. Unmould it and decorate with a collection of appropraitely festive baubles and sprinkles.

When you cut into it, plunge a knife in hot water first.