Bakewell Cheesecake

An indulgent Almond Cheesecake on top of a layer of raspberry jam, encased in a thin shortcrust pastry finished with a classic Bakewell Tart feather design. This creamy Bakewell Cheesecake is a cheesy twist on a quintessentially British tart!

I’ve been a bit quiet on the ol’blog for sometime! Since my last post, Jammie Dodger Cheesecake, my little old blog has turned one! Can you believe it?! Because I can’t! I would love to know how much cream cheese I’ve gotten through this year 🙈.

Anyway, if you have missed me and my delightful cheesecake creations make sure you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter where I’ve been posting regular photos of my Great Bristish Bake Off bakes. Each week I’ve recreated one of the three challenges set by Mary and Paul with a cheesey twist 😉.

I was inspired by last weeks technical bake, the classic Bakewell Tart. I returned from Sunny Spain on Monday and started work Tuesday so didn’t have much time to slave away in the kitchen before Wednesday’s airing of the next episode, so I opted for a super easy Bakewell Cheesecake.

Yes that’s right, I cheated! I used just roll pastry for the crust and splashed out on the cheapest finest raspberry jam I could find in Tesco, so the majority of the hard work was already done for me 😝.  You will need one 9 inch tart tin, ceremic baking beads, an electric whisk (I use a stand mixer), Wilton 1m nozzle and three disposable piping bags.

Ingredients 

For the crust

• I bought Sainsbury’s own brand shortcrust ready rolled pastry (any ready made shortcrust pastry will do)

For filling 

• Seeded raspberry jam
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 225 grams of soft/cream cheese, drained
• 90 grams of caster sugar
• 90 grams of creme fraiche, chilled
• 250 ml of double cream, chilled

For decoration 

• 240 grams of white chocolate, melted
• 1 red food jel colouring
• left over cheesecake filling
• Dried raspberry pieces (optional)

Method

Step 1: Preheat your fan oven to 200C. First, grease your tin with unsalted butter. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface until it’s bigger than the tart tin. Place it into the tin leaving a slight pastry overhang, prick the base with a fork. Line the pastry case with baking paper and pour in the baking beads. Cook for 10 mins at 200C then drop the temperature to 180C and cook for a further 10 min. Take it out of the oven to remove the baking beads and paper, then place it back in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes or until golden! Once the pastry is completely cooked, trim the pastry for a clean edge. *Or follow the instructions on the pastry packet!*

Step 2: Next, spoon a generous helping of raspberry jam onto the base of your pastry case and spread until it’s an even thickness. I used about half a jar of jam but you can use as little or as much as you like! Place in the fridge whilst you make the cheesecake filling.

Step 3: Now it’s the fun part! Place the soft cheese, caster sugar, vanilla and almond extract into your mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whip on a medium low speed. Once fully combined, pop in the creme fraiche and double cream, whip on a medium high speed until thick enough to hold itself. Place it into a piping bag and spiral it around on top of the jam, use a spatula to spread it evenly. Make sure the pastry crust is a little bit higher than your cheesecake filling. Place the left over cheesecake into a bowl and pop it in the fridge along side the Bakewell cheesecake for 2-3 hours.

Step 4: *If left in the fridge for an extended period of time, the White chocolate topper will set too hard so cutting it, and the cheesecake, will be difficult. So it’s best to make the topper just before serving* Pour most of the melted white chocolate over the top of your cheesecake, spread with a spatula for a smooth finish. Add red food colouring to the remaining white choc until it’s a pastel pink, tip into a piping bag and pipe parallel lines over the white chocolate, then drag a cocktail stick through the lines (at a 90 degree angle to the lines) starting from a different end each time to create the feather design. Then scoop the left over cheesecake into a piping bag with the 1m nozzle and pipe swirls around the edge, finish by sprinkling with dried raspberries. Finally remove it from the tin and serve.

Enjoy!

B x

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