Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe
Burnished cheesecake with morello cherries
Makes Cakes, Bread and Pastries
Ingredients
- 750g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 300g soured cream, at room temperature
- 330g caster sugar
- 1tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 4 eggs, plus 2 extra yolks
- 2tbsp cornflour
For the cherry compote
- 1 x 670g jar pitted morello cherries, drained (syrup reserved)
- 3tbsp caster sugar
- 1 star anise
Method
Preheat the oven to 230C/ 210C F/Gas 8. Grease a 20cm round springform tin. Line the base and sides with two large rectangles of baking paper, allowing the extra paper to sit up well above the sides of the tin. It’s fine for the paper to be crinkled and creased as the cake is meant to have a rustic finish.
Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the soured cream and mix well before gradually adding the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla bean paste and mix again until smooth. Add the eggs and extra yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Spoon around 125ml of the batter into a small bowl and add the cornflour. Stir until smooth before returning to the bowl with the rest of the batter. Mix well, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the batter is very smooth.
Pour the batter through a sieve into the prepared tin and tap the tin gently on the worktop a few times to remove any large air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes before lowering the temperature to 200C/180C F/Gas 6 and baking for a further 10–15 minutes or until burnished and bronzed, but still considerably wobbly in the centre – the cake will continue to cook as it cools. Allow to cool completely in the tin (around 3 hours).
While the cake is cooling, make the cherry compote. Pour 185ml of the reserved syrup into a small pan and add the sugar and star anise. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10–12 minutes or until the syrup is slightly reduced. Add the cherries to the pan and cook for a few minutes to heat through. Stir and set aside to cool.
When ready to serve, gently release the cake from the tin and peel away the paper from the sides. Slice with a hot knife – wiping it in between slices – and serve with the cherry compote.
COOK’S NOTE
Both the cake and compote can be prepared the day before. Keep them in fridge overnight and return the cake to room temperature, and warm the cherries gently, before serving.7
Advertisement