RACHAEL’S
Baked Cheesecake with Roasted Figs
Rachael is one of the unsung ‘boss babes’ of the bakery, having carried us through some of our biggest challenges and changes. She’s been steadfast and always championed others into the limelight. Her baked cheesecake, on the other hand, needs no introduction: gloriously silky and heaped with glistening honey-roasted figs, it’ll unashamedly turn all the heads at the table.
SERVES 8–10
For the base
90g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
200g digestive biscuits
1 tbsp caster sugar
For the cheesecake filling
900g full-fat cream cheese
3 tbsp plain flour
225g caster sugar
a pinch of fine salt
200ml sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs plus 1 yolk
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the topping
140g sour cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
a squeeze of lemon juice
To decorate
4 fresh figs
1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp runny honey
60g shelled pistachios and almonds, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line the base of a 23cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.
First, make the base. Put the digestive biscuits into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb with no large lumps. Alternatively, put them into a sealable freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then stir in the biscuit crumbs and tablespoon of caster sugar. Once coated in the melted butter, tip the crumbs into the cake tin and press down to create a flat base layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool
Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6.
Next, make the cheesecake filling. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese for 2–3 minutes until loosened, then gradually beat in the flour, caster sugar and salt. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, eggs and egg yolk, lemon zest and juice, and mix until smooth and uniform in consistency.
Grease the inside edge of the cake tin with a little more butter and pour the filling on top of the biscuit base, smoothing it out with a spatula if it’s not level. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 90°C/60°C fan/Gas Mark ½ and bake for a further 50 minutes until the cheesecake is firm around the edges with a little wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven and open the door, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 2 hours, to slowly cool down as the oven cools.
To make the topping, whisk together the sour cream with the caster sugar and lemon juice. Once the cheesecake has cooled, spread the mixture over the top and transfer to the fridge to set for up to 8 hours or overnight.
At least 1 hour before serving, roast the figs. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4 and slice each fig into quarters. Put the figs into a small roasting tin, sprinkle over the brown sugar and cinnamon and bake for 15–20 minutes until softened and browned. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before drizzling over the honey.
Meanwhile, tip the chopped nuts onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes until fragrant.
To serve, remove the cheesecake from the springform tin and transfer to a large plate. Place the roasted figs on top, drizzle with any remaining honey syrup from the figs and sprinkle with the toasted nuts.
TIP
If you want to make this recipe gluten free, substitute the digestive biscuits for gluten-free biscuits and use gluten-free plain flour instead of regular plain flour.
