“This cheesecake is a lighter option than traditional recipes, which can often be quite heavy and rich. Any dried fruit can be used here; I have used dried cranberries as they add a lovely colour to the filling,” writes Tana Ramsay in From Beder’s Kitchen, a new charity cookbook project to raise awareness about suicide and mental health.
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes | Serves 12
For the base
50g unsalted butter
150g digestive biscuits
For the filling
350g full-fat cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)
150g golden caster sugar
4 medium eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 handful of dried cranberries
300ml soured cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
For the base
Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
Break the digestive biscuits into chunks and place into a food processor. Whizz until you’ve got smooth crumbs. Transfer them to a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, stirring until all the crumbs are evenly coated.
Press the base mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 20cm cake tin; this must be a tin with a removable collar. Press the mix firmly into the edges.
For the filling
Place the cream cheese, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and juice into a mixing bowl. Mix together until smooth and then stir in the cranberries.
Pour this mixture on top of the biscuit base then place the cheesecake in the preheated oven to bake for approximately 30 minutes until just set.
Remove from the oven at this point, as it continues to set while cooling.
After approximately 10 minutes, smooth the soured cream over the top of the cheesecake. Place it back into the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Remove and allow the cheesecake to cool completely and set. Remove the collar of the cake tin and slide off the base onto a serving plate. Refrigerate until serving.
*From Tana Ramsay’s Family Kitchen
