Birthday Cheesecake!

It was a very special birthday last week, and the Birthday boy is not very fond of my usual rich, chocolate covered with more chocolate birthday cakes. So I decided to make a very special cheese cake for his birthday. And when I need something to be perfect the first time I make it I only go to Nigella Lawson

This one is her New York Cheesecake from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. It is a wonderful airy cake that is rich and light at the same time. I halved the recipe but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.Needless to say it was a huge hit, and a breeze to make. Here's how you go about it.

What you need:-

For the base

250 g digestive biscuits
150 g butter, melted
3 tablespoons caster sugar

For the filling

225 g caster sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
750 g full fat soft cream cheese (like Philadelphia)
6 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
150 ml heavy cream
150 ml sour cream
1 lemon, zest of, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 egg whites

To serve 

Nigella suggests you use raspberries or blackberry. Having access to neither I used gorgeous apricot and cherries.

How:

•   Crush the digestive biscuits to fine crumbs in a blender or food processor. Add the melted butter and sugar and mix. Press onto base of greased 24cm springform cake tin. Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
•  Mix the cornflour with the sugar and beat in the cream cheese, egg yolks and vanilla extract with an electric mixer (or by hand).
• Slowly pour in heavy cream and sour cream, beating constantly. Add the lemon zest.
• Clean and dry your whisk. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt to stiff peaks, then fold into the cheese mixture carefully.
• Scoop cheese onto base. Bake in a 170°C oven 1 to 1 1/2 hours without opening the oven door until golden brown on top. Turn off the heat and let the cake stand in the oven for two more hours. Open door, stand a further hour. Then chill it in the refirgerator for a few hours. 
• Serve chilled, dusted with icing sugar and decorated with whatever your heart desires.

Mango Cheese Cake

The best part about Summer for me has to be undoubtedly MANGOES!! If some could eat icecream morning, noon and night, ;-) my food of choice would be mangoes - breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

I have been pretty darned stressed with the PhD and making (and then eating them) desserts is my de-stressor! So I tried a couple of mango recipes and here is the first. It is simple, takes about an hour to prepare and an hour to bake and a recipe that can't fail!

To make Mango cheese cake you need:

• 200 gms paneer (cottage cheese or you can use cream cheese if you find it!)
• 2 medium sized juicy mangoes
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 packet digestive biscuits
• Butter (to make dough for base)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 4 eggs

HOW?

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.
• Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl, you should have about 2 cups, add butter and make dough and spread evenly in the tart tin. Make sure you don't leave any gaps in the base. Seal with saline wrap and freeze till needed.
• Cut the paneer and mango into pieces and blend till you get a smooth paste.
• Beat the eggs and the sugar till fluffy and mix together with the mango-paneer paste.
• Pour over digestive biscuit base and place tart tin in a bigger container with a little water (helps the cheese cake stay humid).
• Put the ensemble in the oven for 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. When the mango cheese part begins to brown slightly, your cheese cake is done. Take it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Serve cold.

Try it and tell me how it turned out!
Bon Appetit!