About the bake
It's no secret that we all love a cheesecake, but a vanilla cheesecake baked? Wow, that's a whole different ball game.
This vanilla cheesecake recipe is a complete game changer that is sure to send ripples through your next dinner party or gathering. Lovingly created by Eric Lanlard, this baked vanilla cheesecake uses Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste to create the dreamiest vanilla flavour and beautiful flecks of vanilla seeds throughout, meaning there is no need to fiddle about with a vanilla pod.
If you want to make it even more special, Eric’s top tips to 'jazz it up' are: Serve with a chunky fresh blueberry compote with crème de cassis, or sprinkle chopped chunks of toffee fudge and drizzle on a salted caramel sauce.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4). Grease and line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin.
Step 2:
Melt the butter and add the biscuit crumbs, stir to combine. Place in the base of the cake tin and spread in an even layer, then flatten (using a spoon).
Step 3:
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until golden. Remove and leave to cool while you prepare the filling.
Step 4:
Reduce the oven to 160°C (fan 140°C, gas mark 2).
Step 5:
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and golden caster sugar until smooth, then add the sour cream and flour and beat again. Gradually add the eggs and Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste, beating well between each addition.
Step 6:
Pour the cream cheese mix on to the biscuit base then bake in the oven for 45 minutes. The cheesecake should be just set with a slight wobble and should still have cream on top with just a slight golden hint around the edges.
Step 7:
Once the cheesecake is cooked, turn off the oven and prop open the door so that it is slightly ajar and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven – this prevents the top from cracking.
Step 8:
Once the oven is cool you can remove the cheesecake to cool completely before removing from the tin.
Step 9:
For the finishing touch, serve with a scoop of homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
Ingredients
For the Base
- 150g Digestive biscuits (crushed)
- 75g Unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
For the Topping
- 900g Full fat cream cheese
- 200g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 200ml Sour cream
- 3 tbsp Allinson's Plain White Flour
- 3 Large free range egg(s)
- 1 Large free range egg yolk(s) (beaten)
- 3 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Utensils
- 20cm spring form cake tin
- Mixing bowl
Recipe Reviews
This has become a firm favorite in our household and is made most weeks! It is easy enough that the children can get involved and I have started sneaking different nuts and seeds in the base to so they're trying new things too.
I really like a nice creamy firm cheesecake with a good base. This one is the best I've made in a long time. I've got to admit, I ate quite a bit of mixture before it went in the oven and it was delicious then too! Thank you Baking Mad. This is my new go-to recipe.
This is a really good recipe! The cheesecake firms up very well and the flavours are balanced. Not too much of anything in it, however I did swap vanilla paste with a string vanilla essence just to loosen up the mixture for mixing before baking. It does taste better the next day though, or at least 6 hours later after being in the fridge. The fridge time does the trick and firms the biscuit base back to crunchy!
Ingredients
For the Base
- 150g Digestive biscuits (crushed)
- 75g Unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
For the Topping
- 900g Full fat cream cheese
- 200g Billington's Unrefined Golden Caster Sugar
- 200ml Sour cream
- 3 tbsp Allinson's Plain White Flour
- 3 Large free range egg(s)
- 1 Large free range egg yolk(s) (beaten)
- 3 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
Utensils
- 20cm spring form cake tin
- Mixing bowl