Cheesecake

This smells really, really goooooooooood.

Over the New Year weekend, I was in the mood for something good: and that always translates to food for me ;)

I found this recipe online here, and me-being-me had to doctor it somewhat and make it mine. Yes, I steal without a conscience, so sue me.

The original recipe called for too much cheese - you must remember there's just Chuan and me at home - so, I halved it. It also had raspberries - which don't grow wild here, and cost a bomb, so that was out, too. I had planned on adding pineapple or tinned peaches (oh, get a grip, tinned food's fine lah!), but when I looked at the amount of cheesecake I had, I thought that, with the fruit, it would overflow the base. So, no fruit in mine.

I also switched around some of the ingredients, because I either didn't have them in my fridge, and I'm NOT the kind who runs out to buy stuff just because they're called for in a recipe. Purleeese!

Here's the recipe for this cheesecake...

Before you start, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

For the crust:

3/4 cup ground almonds*

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa (sifted)

1 tablespoon sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1/2 an egg

1 tsp vanilla

a pinch of salt

Just put all the ingredients in a bowl, and swish them around till they come together in a big, fat lump. If it's too gooey, put in the fridge for a bit. Then, press it into a tin, or baking dish. I used one that was about 9ish x 7ish. Then, plop that in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling:

250 g cream cheese, softened - which means: take it out of the fridge, and let it warm up to room temperature

1/3 cup condensed milk

1 1/2 eggs (use the half left over from the crust! ;)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more, if you like it more sour)

1 tablespoon orange marmalade (it calls for lemon, which I didn't have. I did have marmalade :)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup brown sugar (or more; or less - depending on how sweet you like it. I taste raw food, so I can adjust for sweetness. If you don't, I can't help you. You'll have to follow the instructions, and pray.)

First of all, dump the cream cheese in a bowl, and beat it with an electric mixer till it is light and fluffy, and there're no lumps. You could do this by hand, and use up a few-hundred calories, but I didn't.

When it's nice and creamy, just add in all the other ingredients.

Then, pour it over the crust, and pop it in the oven. (Note: Because I used a pyrex baking dish, I put my dish on a pan, and then put both in the preheated oven. If not, my baking dish might've cracked.)

Bake for 45 minutes - until firm to the touch, and nicely golden on the sides, like it looks in the picture above. Cut out a slice: it will be moist, and light inside. YUMMM!

This is allllll good: c'mon, have a bite!

This is a really simple recipe, and if you've never made a cheesecake in your life, this is the one to try. It just can't go wrong. It also freezes well - and those packets in the freezer are going to be perfect for a rainy day, when Chuan and I want to catch a late movie, and are dying for a midnight snack ;)

*If you can't find ground almonds (or are allergic to nuts), you can use crushed biscuits (like McVite's digestives, which is what I used to use. Just add less sugar to the crust recipe, or omit sugar altogether, because the biscuits would be already sweet.