baked cheesecake

Makes: 8 serves

Time to make: 1 hour 20 minutes

Dietaries: Vegetarian

Cost: $$

Baked lemon & vanilla cheesecake with rose petal, passionfruit and pomegranate and a buttery crumbly McVitie’s Digestives biscuit base.

I’m such a hoe for a cheesecake, have been since I has a little girl and used to be one of my favourite things to bake as a kid. This is a boujie upgrade to your typical cheesecake. Add anything you wish to the top. Seasonal berries and fruits will change due to time of the year, so best to find what is in season and go with that! Find dried rose petals at your local Source Bulk food Grocer or Woolworths.

• Ingredients

  Crust

  1 packet McVities Digestive biscuits

  125gm butter, melted

  pinch malden salt

  Filling

  2x 250gm philadelphia cream cheese

  2/3 cup sour cream

  2 eggs

  1/2 c granulated sugar

  1 tsp vanilla paste

  1/2 juice of lemon

  1/2 zest of a lemon

  pinch malden salt

  To top

  Rose petals, pomegranate arils, fresh passionfruit or canned passionfruit pulp.

  Best to use whatever is in season. Great with berries or left plain.

• Method

  Pre-heat oven to 180c.

  Prepare a standard size cake tin and line base with baking paper, and walls with butter.

  In a food processor, pulse biscuits until crumbs form. Add pinch of salt and melted butter. Pulse until combined. Add more melted butter if needed to bring ingredients together.

  Empty base ingredients into the cake pan and using a spoon or your fingers, press down to form an even base with walls. Base should be an even 1cm thickness.

  Bake the base for 10-12 mins until base is golden and smells delish. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

  Add cream cheese, malden salt and sugar to food processor and mix to combine until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides. Follow with sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and pulse until smooth.

  Transfer ontop of the base, and bake at 180c for about 30-40 minutes. The top should be golden, and inside somewhat jiggly still. Remove from oven and let cool.

  Top with berries or fruits before serving.

  Keeps well in the fridge for a few days.