I have been asked by my son to make a cheesecake for his birthday. I haven't made one for over 20 years.
Does anyone have a tried and true recipe. I dont mind if its baked, although I think he remembers unbaked ones. I have lost my old recipe. I think it was in a booklet put out by the NZ Herald years ago, but I might be wrong.
Thanks for your help.
Sue

This is my go-to cheesecake. It's a classic I guess. I use my own passionfruit pulp, but I'm pretty sure you could replace with a puree of raspberries, strawberries or other fruit.

[www.philly.com.au]

This is my favourite. Unbaked. - Serves 10

Lemon Cheesecake

250grm Gingernut biscuits
100g butter - melted
3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
2 Tablespoons water
500 grams cream cheese - softened
1 cup castor sugar
Zest & juice of 2 lemons
250ml (1 cup) cream - whipped
Fresh berries to serve

Process biscuits to fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process again until butter is thoroughly mixed into the biscuit crumbs

Line base of 23cm springform tin with baking paper and lightly grease the sides with spray oil

Press biscuit mixture into base and sides of tin to come about 5cm up the sides - I find a bottle or straight sided glass helps with this. Refrigerate until required.

Combine gelatine and water in a small glass bowl, stand 5 mins. Microwave on high 20 seconds or until gelatine melts.

Using an electric mixture beat cream cheese and sugar until very smooth. Beat in lemon juice, zest and gelatine mixture. Fold in whipped cream. Pour mixture into prepared biscuit base and refrigerate, covered at least 2 hours or until required. Freezes very well.

Serve with fresh berries.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2018 08:50AM by Ali W.

American Cheesecake

Base: 500 g sweet biscuits crushed ( round wine or malt or similar)
250 g melted butter
½ tsp ground cinnamon
This makes 2 small crusts or 1 very large

Mix together, press into container ( high sided tin with removable bottom is best) and bake 10 mins 350 F

Filling:
250 g cream cheese
1 pkt lemon jelly
¾ cup boiling water
1 Tblspn grated lemon rind
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tin unsweetened condensed milk ( 12 ozs/ 340 g) I think evaporated milk is what is used now
1 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve jelly in water, add lemon rind and juice. Cool slightly. Beat milk until thick, beat cheese until smooth. Blend in sugar slowly, add vanilla and blend in milk. Fold in jelly mixture and pour into crust. Chill overnight.

Hi Griz, you mention you use your own passionfruit pulp. I'd like to do the same. The recipe says 2 x 170g cans of passionfruit pulp. What quantity of your own passionfruit pulp do you put in instead? I presume that's just straight passionfruit pulp, no sugar or anything else added?

I've never made a cheesecake as I never used to like them. But I'd like to make one and lemon or passionfruit is what appeals. I have another problem though. I haven't bought or eaten biscuits from the supermarket for many years and the thought of using supermarket biscuits as the base is too off-putting.

I could do something like this instead? [allrecipes.com.au]
or the base of this one (the sugar ratio sounds better....) [www.dairygoodness.ca]

My go to one no cook is toblerone cheese cake using philidelphia cheese. Really easy and rich tasting.
[www.taste.com.au]

Hi J1, I just add spoonful by spoonful tasting the mix as I go, until it's as passionfruity as I like it. I'd guess maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of pulp.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2018 10:52AM by Griz.

Euuuarrgggh well that was kind of disgusting. They're kind of gross really aren't they. I knew I must have a reason for not liking them most of my life. But just lately cream cheese has tasted kind of nice to me. So I thought mmmmmmmm cheesecake. But by the time you've added the flavours and all that extra cream (eeeeeeeewwwww) and all that sugar (blurrrrrk).... and then the base....you can't taste the cream cheese flavour anymore. Instead, you have this........thing, which is kind of like eating gloop.

I used the www.dairygoodness base but the flavour of that's too plain and adds nothing to the cheesecake, plus it's a bit too crisp for knife or spoon. I'd probably go for Ali W's gingernut biscuit base next time. 'Cept there won't be a next time because the internal jury has declared I still don't like cheesecake.

Sumar have you made the cheesecake yet? Which one applealed to you in the end?

J1 - did you try making your own biscuit base?
I’m keen to try the first one as it’s looks so easy.

Hi, Lynette, yes I did make my own biscuit base but I did the second one - the dairygoodness one and it was too boring and didn't add anything to the cheesecake, plus the texture wasn't ideal. I think the first one you want to try (the allrecipes one) would be better, especially because it has desiccated coconut in it which would help the flavour and texture. It's certainly worth a try.

I try to chose the biscuit for my base based on the flavours in the cheesecake, so gingernuts with a lime cheesecake, krispie biscuits with a mango one, chocolatethins with a coffee cheesecake or vanilla wines with a berry, and you can add extras like chopped crystalised ginger, or desicated coconut, or choc chips etc as you mix it up.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cheesecake J1, I love a good cheesecake, but it has to be light and well flavoured, I remember the first ever cheesecake I ate was at a little restaurant in Masterton in the 1980s, "Le Petite Cafe", it had lemon zest and chocolate chips in the mixture, and it was gorgeous, one of those food memories that has shaped my tastes over the years.