CHEESECAKE
According to the Daily Mail, cheesecake has been voted the top teatime treat of all time – beating the classic Victoria sponge. A poll of 2,000 adults revealed chocolate cake and carrot cake in second and third place, followed by lemon drizzle.
Let’s gets started on a few old recipes
This is a basic recipe for cheesecake taken from the ‘Supercook’ set of recipes
This popular sweet-sour confection probably originated in Greece and is now world famous. There are hundreds of variations, but the basic ingredients are similar, cottage, curd or cream cheese, eggs and a thickening such as flour, cornflour [cornÂstarch], semolina or ground nuts. Extra ingredients are added for flavour; fresh or dried fruits, essences and spices being the most usual. Cheesecake generally has a pastry or biscuit [cookie] crust as a base and some recipes require baking and others just chilled in the refrigerator.
Cheesecake is eaten more in the United States than any other country and lots of the recipes come from the many people from other countries who settled there. A well known Italian cheesecake is Crostata di Ricotta — rich and creamy with ricotta cheese, Kasekuchen from Germany has a lemon and nut flavoured filling in a crisp cinnamon base and in Britain the little Maids of Honour have a creamy cheese filling. This cheesecake is easy to make, it is rich and makes an excellent dessert.
One 9-inch cake
- 3 oz. [3/8 cup] plus 1 teaspoon butter, melted
- 6 oz. digestive biscuits [3 cups graham crackers] crushed
- 2 tablespoons sugar
FILLING
- 1 1/2 lb. full fat cream cheese
- 3oz. [3/8 cup] castor sugar
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon cornflour [cornstarch] mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2oz. [1/3 cup] currants
- 1 1/2oz. [1/4 cup] glace cherries, chopped
- 5 fl. oz. [5/8 cup] sour cream
- 2 teaspoons castor sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F (Gas Mark 4, 180°C).
With the teaspoon of butter grease a 9-inch loose-bottomed cake tin. Set it aside.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl comÂbine the crushed digestive biscuits [graham crackers], sugar and remaining butter with a wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and press it firmly, covering the bottom of the tin.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spoon. Add the egg yolks and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Stir in the lemon rind, cornflour and lemon juice, currants and glace cherries.
In another large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or rotary beater until they are stiff. With a metal spoon, fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes or until the centre is firm when pressed with a finger-tip.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, castor sugar and vanilla essence and beat well with a wooden spoon.
Remove the tin from the oven and, using a palette knife, spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the cake. Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes.
Remove the tin from the oven and set aside to cool. When cool remove the cake from the tin and chill it in the refrigerator before serving.
© Copyright Marshall Cavendish
Another cheesecake recipe taken from the 1971 magazine ‘Fanny & Johnny Cradock‘
CHEESECAKE
Gateau au Fromage Blanc
- 3 3/4oz. crumbled digestive biscuits
- 31/4 oz. unsalted butter
- 3/4 lb. curd cheese
- 1 standard egg
- Strained juice of 1/2 small lemon
- Grated rind of 1/4 large lemon (optional)
- 2 heaped tablespoons sifted vanilla-flavoured
- Icing sugar
- 1 small carton soured cream
- A little stiffly whipped double or whipping cream and sifted icing sugar for dusting or 1/4 batch Basic Choux Paste for top decoration
Line a 4 1.2″ X 11 1/2″ flan case or frame with panel of liberally buttered and floured greaseproof paper and crease corners to bring at least 1″ above tin’s rim. Crumble biscuits, melt butter in shallow frying pan and work in crumbs over moderate heat until mixture forms a firm paste. Press paste evenly over base of tin. Place curd cheese in roomy bowl, break it down thoroughly and add egg, lemon juice, optional lemon rind and sugar. Beat well until evenly blended, turn into biscuit paste-lined tin, smooth off top neatly and if wishing to present as in our picture, pipe choux paste through a writing pipe over top surface in trellis pattern. Then bake middle shelf of oven, Gas Mark 4 or 350°F., for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and refrigerate overnight in container. Then ease cheeseÂcake from tin and peel papers away careÂfully. For alternative presentation after baking as above, spread the top evenly with soured cream, cover with piped rosettes of cream and scatter very liberally with sifted icing sugar. Optionally sprinkle with browned flaked almonds.
© Copyright in the text Fanny and Johnnie Cradock 1971
© Copyright in the illustration BPC Publishing Limited 1971
To finish our vintage collection for the day, take a look at these three 1980’s recipes from the recipe card collection ‘My Favourite Recipes’ copyright by Cardmark
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