Baked Cheesecake

If there is one thing the Americans know how to do, it’s how to make great cheesecakes. The mixture here is like a sweetened quiche filling, which is slightly denser and less fluffy than the classic British cheesecake. But because it has no biscuit base, the result is less sweet and heavy.

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing

550g cream cheese, at room temperature

160g caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp plain flour

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

200g raspberries

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Butter a 23cm springform cake pan.

2. Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the beaten eggs bit by bit until combined. Add the flour and lemon zest, then fold through the raspberries.

3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan, tapping it against the work surface to remove any bubbles and help the raspberries rise up from the bottom. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until set on the edges but wobbling slightly in the middle.

4. Once cooled, remove from the tin, running a kitchen knife around the edges to loosen if necessary, and serve.

Read More

Apple Crumble

Who does not love crumble? By combining both fruit purée and chunks, and sweet, chewy dried cranberries, I’m creating layers of texture and interest beneath a beautiful crunchy granola topping. Don’t worry about peeling the fruit. Whether it’s apples, pears or peaches, the flavour is all in the skin.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp caster sugar

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

6 apples, cored but not peeled, 3 of them grated, 3 cut into chunks

3 tbsp dried cranberries

Zest of 1 lemon, juice of ½

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING

100g plain flour

2 tbsp demerara sugar

50g butter, chilled and cubed

Pinch of ground cinnamon

4 tbsp nutty granola or muesli

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

2. Heat a small hob-proof baking dish, add the caster sugar and heat for about 5 minutes until it caramelises. Add the cinnamon, vanilla seeds and grated apples and cook for 1–2 minutes. Stir in the apple chunks, then mix in the cranberries, lemon zest and juice. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. To make the topping, place the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the granola and mix until fully incorporated.

4. Scatter the crumble topping over the fruit and heat the dish again on the hob. Once the apple mixture is bubbling, transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 12–14 minutes until the topping is a deep golden colour. Remove and serve warm.

Note:

To make a crunchy crumble, demerara sugar works best in a crumble mixture because it stops the butter melting into the flour, and adding one-third muesli or granola to two-thirds crumble opens out the texture to give a crunchier result. Finally, only ever sprinkle your topping over the fruit. Don’t push it down or it will go soggy.

Read More