Overview:
By: Antonia
Meal Type: Dessert
Cook time: 1.5 hours
Servings: 8-10
Description:
A baked cheesecake is easier to make in an Aga range cooker than you might imagine. The gentle, radiant heat of the simmering oven ensures a lovely smooth and creamy filling. This version is swirled with lemon curd and can be served with a delicious blackberry compote.
Ensure that all your ingredients are at room temperature before you start – this is vital to ensure a smooth filling and limit cracking of the surface.
You'll need...
Ingredients:
Equipment...
- 20cm springform tin
- Cold shelf for use with Aga range cookers
Method:
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Grease the sides and base of a 20cm springform tin. Crush the ginger nuts by placing in a bag and bashing with a rolling pin or whizz to crumbs in a food processor. Mix with the melted butter and pour into the prepared tin – spread to cover the base and push down with the back of a spoon. Place the tin on a grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and bake for 7 minutes or until golden and crisp at the edges. Set aside to cool whilst you make the filling.
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Gently combine the cream cheese, soured cream, sugar and cornflour. This is easiest with an electric whisk but be careful not to over-whisk – you don’t want to get too much air into the mixture. When just combined, add the eggs and mix briefly to combine. Finally, add the vanilla extract.
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Pour and scrape the mixture over the top of the biscuit base and then dot the lemon curd over the top. Use a teaspoon or fork to swirl the lemon curd loosely over the top.
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Carefully place the cheesecake onto the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and slide the cold shelf onto the second runners. Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges of the cheesecake are just set but the centre remains runny.
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Move the (now hot) ‘cold shelf’ to the centre of the simmering oven. Carefully transport the cheesecake and place on the shelf. Bake for a further 45 mins – 1 hour by which point the cheesecake will be set with a slight wobble in the centre. It will firm up as it cools!
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Remove the cheesecake and set on a wire rack. Immediately run a sharp knife around the edge or the cheesecake to loosen from the sides. This will prevent major cracking if it shrinks from the sides during cooling. Leave to cool completely in the tin – ideally near the warmth of the cooker so that it cools very slowly. When completely cool, transfer to the fridge and chill for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.
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When ready to serve, unclip the tin and carefully slide the cheesecake off the base. Serve with blackberries (which you can dot over the top), or with a blackberry compote (see below).
For the compote...
Place blackberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice into an ovenproof saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes on the simmering plate or transfer to simmering oven for 20 minutes. The juices will seem runny but will thicken slightly once chilled.
Aga range cooker tips:
- It is vital that all ingredients are at room temperature – if the cream cheese is still cold, it won’t combine well with the other ingredients and you won’t achieve a smooth texture.
- Transferring the cold shelf to the simmering oven once hot, increases the temperature at the top of the simmering oven and provides heat to the base of the cheesecake.
- Be sure to cool the cheesecake completely before transferring to the fridge. The chilling of the cheesecake is vital so don’t be tempted to skip this stage. Cheesecakes need to ‘mature’ and always taste better the next day.
This fun family recipe has been scribed and tested by community member Antonia, who is a hard working mum with two boys. Her recipes are trialed in her much loved Aga range cooker and devoured by her family, allowing Antonia to provide accurate tips and advice on how to make the dishes a success! Go check her work out! She is a country girl, happily surrounded by an excitable Lab, her dear husband, two boys and the Cotswolds.
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