Baked Cheesecake

Before I finished up for Christmas, I made my best efforts to use up everything perishable in my fridge so that I didn't have to needlessly throw it away.  Among the items that I needed to use up were a large pot of cottage cheese and a carton of cream.  What better to make with those items than a cheesecake.  I did have to invest in some biscuits and cream cheese to make it, but the luxury of a cheesecake is surely worth it.

The recipe I decided to use for my cheesecake was a handwritten one that I had scrawled down years ago from a cookbook owned by my flatmate.  He happened to own the only cookbook that  anyone possessed at that stage in our lives, so I made the most of it by copying down any recipes that took my fancy.  Sadly, I have no idea what the cookbook was called.

It has been years since I made this particular cheesecake, so it was a pleasure to dust off the old recipe, use up my kitchen leftovers, and reminisce about days long past.

The cheesecake cracked on top, despite my leaving it in the oven to cool, but it still tasted smashing.  I could have made a sour cream topping to cover it up, but it didn't matter so I didn't.

To make this cheesecake, you will need:

Crust

125g melted butter
1/2 packet plain biscuits, crushed (I used gingernuts)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling

250g cream cheese
250g cottage cheese
1/2 cup cream
1 cup sour cream (I flipped the proportions of sour cream and cream because  that is what I had)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon cornflour  
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of half a lemon (I skipped this)

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease and line a 20cm springform pan. 

Mix the melted butter, cinnamon and biscuit crumbs together in a bowl and press into the base of the prepared springform pan.  (I found the butter was a little too much - you may want to add it gradually and only use what you need to make a moist crumb.)  Place the base into the refrigerator to cool while you make the filling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the chopped cream cheese and cottage cheese until smooth.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the cornflour, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat until just combined.  Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the sour cream and cream. 

Pour the cheesecake filling into the chilled base, then place in the oven to cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour (it will be only slightly jiggly in the centre once done).

Leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door slightly ajar to cool completely, then refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving by removing the outer ring of the springform pan and slicing the cheesecake into generous pieces.  Serve with fresh cream and fruit, or as is.