Cheesecake ...

[KC2]

Hello all, on a wet and dull day!

I've been looking at a 200 g pack of cream cheese in the fridge that didn't get eaten on its own and been thinking about making a cheesecake. I want to make a small one - using a silver foil tray that originally housed a Waitrose quiche. It's about 6 inches across and 1 1/4 inches deep.
I came across this recipe http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/28905/le ... ecake.aspx and wondered if you think half quantities would work? Also, I was surprised to see cornflour used, having not come across it in other recipes. I haven't got any digestives but thought I could use ginger nuts instead.

If you have any ideas or T & T recipes for a lemon or vanilla cheesecake that could be adapted for a small one (and ideally don't need any additional ingredients like cream etc), please do pass them on!

Thanks!

KC2

[scullion]

the cornflour isn't really surprising as it's a baked cheesecake.
i was in the same position as you a while back but with three packs of cream cheese (the light version) so what i did was separate three eggs, beat the yolks with the three packs of cream cheese, three hand scoops of granulated sugar (i.e. sugar poured into my cupped hand), three hand grabs of flour (i.e. grab the flour out of the bag), zest and juice of two lemons, a couple of handfuls of sultanas and there may have been a glug of cream but maybe not. beat the egg whites and fold into the cheese mix. i made the base in the usual way with butter and whatever biscuits were left in the bottom of the jar (which included a couple of chocolate ones and some spekulaas - and others i can't remember). i baked it for about an hour at 180°c, i think, but you would have to adjust that along with the recipe!

[KC2]

Hi scullion - brilliant, thanks! Good to know you've done similar

[Suelle]

The short answer is - yes!

I can't see any reason why half quantities wouldn't work; keep an eye on the baking time, though - it may be a little shorter, but not by much, as you'll have a similar depth of cheese mixture.

[KC2]

Thanks Suelle, I had a feeling that the baking time might not be that much shorter.

[scullion]

by the way, i forgot to say that it turned out very similar to the cheesecake you could buy in m&s years ago - or in the jewish bakery that lured me in as i walked back to the flat from college. i was very pleased with it.
oh yes, and it was still a little soft at the end of cooking so i let it cool for a while in the oven so it would firm up and wouldn't split too much on cooling. - it was about three inches deep, in a spring clip pan that was probably about ten inches diameter.

[KC2]

Yum! It's in the oven right now ... I remember the M & S cheesecakes of long ago too! They used to do a chocolate swirly one that was divine!

[scullion]

did the mix taste good?

[aero280]

I'll have to do another cheesecake soon.

I have a recipe for a chocolate and peanut cheesecake. Chocolate biscuit base (Bourbon, Oreo, etc. Layer of chocolate ganache. Then the peanut cheesecake. Topped off withe more ganache...

It's very rich

When I first came to London I lived at Belsize Park. There was a Jewish Deli there that sold big chunks of cheesecake with sultanas and other dried fruit in it. It kept us going while we were in the laundrette.

[KC2]

did the mix taste good?

Yes it did!! I now have to work out if it's cooked or not ...

love the sound of the Jewish cheesecake with sultanas ....

[KC2]

I think it's done, it's cracking a bit on top and feels quite firm ...

[scullion]

sounds like they may have been part of a chain! the ones i used to go to were somewhere near bayswater and the other at the swiss cottage end of finchley road.

[KC2]

It was very good! I'll definitely make it again. My son said it was "better than the Waitrose one we had last week"

[scullion]

sounds like your hands are the same size as mine then!
glad it was as good as i thought it was. i was worried that i might have forgotten something because i didn't write it down while i was making it.

[karadekoolaid]

Just seen this.
I do have a recipe for roasted garlic cheesecake which, although it sounds absolutely wierd, is actually delicious.
And a smoked salmon cheesecake too...

[StokeySue]

The Jewish cheesecake seems to have died out, even in the east I haven't seen any in the bagel shops or Grodzinsky, the ultimate came from Kossoff's on Petticoat Lane and in Golders Green. I think the chain is Lindy's, there is still one in Temple Fortune

[scullion]

the one at swiss cottage was definitely a lindy's. not sure about the bayswater/notting hill area one though.
the demise of the jewish cheesecake is a sad thing indeed.

[PatsyMFagan]

Just seen this.
I do have a recipe for roasted garlic cheesecake which, although it sounds absolutely wierd, is actually delicious.
And a smoked salmon cheesecake too...

I make savoury cheese cake - first saw this on an episode of Come Dine with Me (remember how we all avidly watched and then posted our comments the following day ) .. I make a base of savoury biscuits, then fill with a mixture of cottage, cream and cheddar cheese with a couple of eggs. Red Pepper Chilli jam/jelly goes really well with this too

[Hope]

I love cheesecake. No one else in my family does, though. And only baked cheesecake, not those nasty slimy fridge ones. Good idea about halving the amount. Might have to try it for when my parents next visit as dad loves it too.

[scullion]

my effort made it quite easy to third the amount. i'm not sure i can grab half a handful of flour with any accuracy...

[Hope]

How did you third 2 eggs?

[KC2]

ah yes, Grodzinsky's and Lindy's! Takes me back to when we used to live in Golders Green way back when ... Interesting that Lindy's is still going. Is Grodzinsky's?

How did you third 2 eggs?

[Catherine]

Ginger nuts work great as a cheesecake base, as so hobnobs. Gosh haven't made one in years. Might have to treat the kids. I did one for a Christmas buffet at Christmas a few years back. All the family contributed and my role was the cheesecake. I had such fun decorating it

[StokeySue]

Interesting that Lindy's is still going. Is Grodzinsky's?

Grodzinski is huge round here, but I think has less branches around London than there used to be
Still the place for challah

I was wrong about Lindy's, apparently RIP, the Temple Fortune one must have been taken over by someone, the shop front didn't change much

[scullion]

Unread postby Hope » November 15th, 2016, 5:14 pm

How did you third 2 eggs?


there were three eggs in my recipe - and easier to third the two lemons if that's what you meant - because it just means you have some left over for a g and t.

[Rainbow]

the ultimate came from Kossoff's on Petticoat Lane

That's where we used to get it from when I worked at The London Hospital in Whitechapel.

My recipe for a baked Jewish-type cheesecake with sultanas in is very similar to the one Scullion gave. Only real difference is it uses 250g full fat cream cheese and 250g Ricotta.
Friends always like it when I make it for them.

[Hope]

Oops, sorry I was looking at the recipe on KC2's original post.

[StokeySue]

My recipe for a baked Jewish-type cheesecake with sultanas in is very similar to the one Scullion gave. Only real difference is it uses 250g full fat cream cheese and 250g Ricotta.Friends always like it when I make it for them.

My recipe is based on one Delia Smith posted in the Evening Standard - easy to remember as all 1s and 3s and not quite like Kossoff's (but no that different(
1lb curd cheese, 3 eggs, 3 oz sugar (I think she used 6, but she has a sweet tooth), 1 TBS lemon juice, I tsp vanilla
If using sultanas, soak in the lemon juice
Bake 1 hour at gas 3, cool in the oven with the door open
I think most of the local bakeries would have used Rayne's cream cheese, based in Stokey though I think the actual factory might have been out in Hertfordshire (closed about 30 years ago , the site is now a block of flats)
The point is Rayne's cream cheese was as I remember it tangier than Philadelphia, more like curd cheese

Some of the local Jeewishl bakeries used ot use excessive amounts of lemon essence

[Hope]

Sue - what size tin do you cook that in?

[StokeySue]

Sue - what size tin do you cook that in?

24/25 cm spring form, standard biscuit base
The problem is getting your hands on curd cheese, though it does work with ordinary cream cheese (I prefer s'market own brand as it is not usually as bland as Philly)

[Seatallan]

Oooh, haven't had a cheesecake like that for years....

[StokeySue]

I went out for a walk yesterday and popped into Grozinsky's flagship store at Stamford Hill cross
It has just been refurbished, very slick, with an emphasis on take out food - sandwiches, bagels, falafel, pizza, coffee, scalds on the right hand side, and traditional bakery to the left
Couldn't actually find any cheesecake (I didn't ask as I didn't want to buy any) but it was late and they may have sold out
May have to return for falafel & the pick'n'mix biscuits, which look like a winning entry on Bake Off,

[KC2]

I must say, I like the sound of cream cheese and ricotta - probably a bit lighter than 100% cream cheese. As for curd cheese, I remember way back we used to be able to get it at the deli counter at our local Sainsbury's (which was a huge one it must be said), and I have a feeling that some Polish delis do it, don't they? I remember my Russian teacher getting "tvorog" for her fantastic Easter cake (Pashka) at the local Polish shop.

I went out for a walk yesterday and popped into Grozinsky's flagship store at Stamford Hill cross
It has just been refurbished, very slick, with an emphasis on take out food - sandwiches, bagels, falafel, pizza, coffee, scalds on the right hand side, and traditional bakery to the left

Did you mean "salads", Sue? Or are "scalds" some obscure Jewish delicacy
Either way it's unfortunately the wrong end of London for us

[KC2]

Oops, sorry I was looking at the recipe on KC2's original post.

Yup, half worked out really well. I'm thinking of doing the full sized one next week when some friends come round for Sunday lunch. OH is in charge of the main and I'll do the dessert. One of our guests is incredibly picky but loves lemon cheesecake so maybe he'll have to fill up on it!!

[StokeySue]

Did you mean "salads", Sue? Or are "scalds" some obscure Jewish delicacy

Yup
Spellchecker strikes again

[KC2]

[scullion]

i've just come to check that i've remembered my cheesecake ingredients correctly now that i've (already) put it in the oven as here seems to be the only place i wrote it down. i think i should do a copy and paste just in case!

[KC2]

i've just come to check that i've remembered my cheesecake ingredients correctly now that i've (already) put it in the oven as here seems to be the only place i wrote it down. i think i should do a copy and paste just in case!

And had you?

[scullion]

oh yes!
some things are obviously too important to forget!

[KC2]

oh yes!
some things are obviously too important to forget!

Excellent

[scullion]

as it's a fast day (mainly for my partner) i've told him it won't be ready to eat until tomorrow - but i might have some later (snigger snigger).

[TeresaFoodie]

Lovely reading back on this thread. More and more threads seem to be being brought back from the dead recently.

Glad you got the ingredients right this time round scullion.

I'm reading back really wanting to make a baked lemon and sultana cheesecake very soon, a dessert I made when I first got married, it was a real crowd pleaser, but at the time I ate dairy free so had to take their word for it.

Was the chocolate and peanut mentioned ever shared here?

[scullion]

More and more threads seem to be being brought back from the dead recently.

if you want to find out about something or know that it's here somewhere, the search box is a very useful tool.
also, it means you don't have to start another thread on the same subject; you get all the information on the one thread.
i use the search box rather a lot.