Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a simple baked cheesecake filling built on Neufchatel cheese, milk, caster sugar, a little cornflour and whole egg. The cornflour is what keeps it steady: it holds the custard together while it bakes so the filling sets smooth and creamy rather than watery, and it helps guard against the cracks that plague richer baked cheesecakes.
Baked slowly in a water bath, it comes out pale, soft and lightly wobbly in the centre, with a clean milky tang rather than heavy richness. Pour it over a shortcrust base, a biscuit crumb base or a thin layer of sponge, and once it is cold it cuts into clean slices that hold their shape for decorating.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 1823
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: 24 cm round tin, about 6 cm high
|
|
|
WEIGHT
(grams)
|
ALTERNATIVE METRIC
|
INGREDIENT
|
IMAGE
|
CONDITION
|
|
A
|
900 |
2 pounds
|
Neufchatel Cheese
Neufchatel is a soft, fresh, spreadable cheese with a mild tang and slightly less fat than full cream cheese, which gives fillings a lighter body. Ordinary cream cheese can be used in its place.
|
|
room temperature |
|
B
|
450 |
1.9 cups
|
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Milk is processed into a variety of dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, ice cream, and cheese. Modern industrial processes use milk to produce casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additives and industrial products.
full cream
|
|
room temperature |
|
C
|
300 |
10.6 ounces
|
Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
|
|
|
|
D
|
38 |
1.3 ounces
|
Corn Starch
Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch or maize is the starch derived from the corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. Corn starch is a popular food ingredient used in thickening sauces or soups, and is used in making corn syrup and other sugars.
cornflour
|
|
sifted |
|
E
|
135 |
2.7 Whole Eggs
|
Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
|
|
room temperature |
|
|
1823
|
|
|
|
|
Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
|
STEP
|
ACTION
|
DETAIL
|
CONDITION
|
|
1 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Line the base and sides of a 24 cm ring or springform tin with baking paper, wrap the outside of the tin in aluminium foil and stand it in a deep tray. |
Tin sealed well enough that no water can seep in |
|
2 |
Soften |
Beat A (Neufchatel cheese) on low speed with a paddle until completely smooth, scraping the bowl down once or twice. |
No lumps at all; lumps left now will stay in the baked filling |
|
3 |
Mix |
Whisk C and D (caster sugar and cornflour) together in a bowl so the starch is evenly spread through the sugar, then beat it into the cheese. |
Smooth and glossy, still on low speed so no air is beaten in |
|
4 |
Add |
Add E (whole egg) a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. |
Fully combined and smooth before the next addition |
|
5 |
Loosen |
Pour in B (milk) in a slow stream with the mixer on low, then pass the whole mixture through a fine sieve. |
Pourable, like a thin custard; sieving catches any last lumps |
|
6 |
Fill |
Pour the filling over your prepared base in the lined tin and tap the tin gently on the bench to release trapped air bubbles. |
Surface level and free of large bubbles |
|
7 |
Bake |
Pour 1 to 1.5 litres of hot water into the tray around the tin and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. |
Edges set, the centre still wobbles slightly when the tin is nudged |
|
8 |
Cool |
Switch the oven off, open the door slightly and leave the cheesecake inside for 30 minutes, then lift it out of the water bath and cool to room temperature. |
Cooling slowly prevents the surface from cracking |
|
9 |
Chill |
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, before removing the ring and cutting. |
Firm and cold right through; cut with a hot, dry knife |
Important Notes
The scaled recipe makes about 1,823 g of filling, enough for one 24 cm cheesecake around 6 cm high. It is a filling only, so bake it over a base of your choice — a biscuit crumb base, a thin sponge disc or a blind-baked shortcrust. Keep the cheese at room temperature before you start; cold cheese will not beat smooth. Avoid whipping air into the mixture, as air is what makes a baked cheesecake rise, crack and then sink. The water bath and the slow cool-down in the switched-off oven both help keep the top flat and pale. Store the finished cheesecake covered in the fridge and use within 3 to 4 days.
Tools & Arrangements
Electric mixer with paddle attachment, mixing bowls, fine sieve, whisk, spatula, 24 cm cake ring or springform tin, baking paper, aluminium foil, deep roasting tray for the water bath, jug of hot water.
