Baked Lemon & Vanilla Cheesecake

For a treat, it is hard to beat this baked lemon and vanilla cheesecake. It is easy to make and everybody loves it. Once it is cooked, leave it to cool in the oven to prevent it from cracking.

Ingredients:
For the base:
6 tbsp (3oz) Butter, extra for greasing
8oz digestive biscuits or graham crackers, finely crushed
For the topping:
1lb (450g) soft cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (9oz) sour cream
¾ cup (5oz) caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup (2oz) plain flour
1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
Icing sugar and finely pared rind of lemon, to decorate
lightly whipped cream, to serve

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C), Gas mark 3. To make the base of the cheesecake, grease a 9in (23cm) loose-bottomed cake tin.
2. Melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat. Add the crushed biscuits and mix well to combine.
3. Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the tin, pressing down with the back of a spoon to flatten into the corners.
4. Chill for 15 minutes to firm up.

5. Meanwhile, Place the soft cream cheese, sour cream, caster sugar, egg yolks, plain flour, vanilla seeds, lemon rind and juice in a bowl.
6. Beat together with a hand-held electric mixer until smooth and well combined.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold the whites into the cream cheese mixture until just combined.

8. Carefully pour the soft cheese mixture into the tin on top of the biscuit base.
9. Using a palette knife, spread out evenly to cover the base completely. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and just set.
10. It should be slightly wobbly in the middle. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven.
11. Carefully remove from the tin and transfer to a flat plate.

To serve, dust the cheesecake with icing sugar and scatter over the pared lemon rind just before serving. Cut into slices and arrange on plates with the cream.

Source: Kerrygold