Lately, some readers and Facebook followers have expressed some disappointment in my love of baked goods and sweet stuff because they were under the illusion that my blog/Facebook page are healthy.
I’ve had to explain that my blog is like my diet and that’s to say, it’s varied. There’s food that’s vegan, vegetarian, low fat, low iodine, egg free, gluten free and also highly calorific. I’ve had two touches of cancer and from them I’ve learned two important lessons.
- Treat your body right, respect it and fuel it well.
- Life is too short not to eat the cake.
You might say that these lessons learned are completely contradictory but I’d argue that they’re totally complementary. You see life, like a diet (and when I say diet I mean the food that we eat, not a slimming regime,) is all about balance. There are some foods that you eat every day because they’re good for you, and there’s other food that you eat on some days because you like them.
This cheesecake is a some day food. We are big fans of cheesecake in this house and baked cheesecakes are our best but we don’t eat them every day. In fact, we only really eat them on high days, holidays or if someone is coming over for dinner. Jason Shaw once said “life tastes better after a slice of cheesecake.” and those words have never been truer than true when applied to this cheesecake. I promise you, this is one slice of cheesecake, you’re never going to regret!
It’s pretty as a picture for starters, deliciously creamy with just a hint of orange to cut through the richness. This recipe uses orange liqueur but if you haven’t got any or don’t want to use any, orange juice is a great alcohol free option.
So tell me, what’s your some time food?
Serves 8
Ingredients
200g plain biscuits
90g butter
825g can plums in juice
2 x 250g packets cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons plain flour
½ cup (120g) sour cream
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
3 eggs, beaten lightly
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
FOR THE PLUM SYRUP
1/4 cup (60ml) orange liqueur
2 teaspoons shredded orange rind
How to – Traditional
- Grease sides and line the base of 23cm spring form tin.
- Melt the butter. Set aside.
- In a food processor, blitz biscuits until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add melted butter and process until just combined.
- Using the back of a spoon, press crumb mixture evenly over base of prepared tin. Cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150C/130C fan-forced. Drain plums over a jug, reserving the juice for the plum syrup. Carefully halve plums and remove the stones. Set aside.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients, except the plums and the almonds, in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer for about 5 minutes or until thick and smooth.
- Place tin on an oven tray, pour cheesecake mixture into tin. Top with plum halves and sprinkle with almonds. Bake in slow oven about 50 minutes, or until just firm. Cool in oven with door ajar.
- Cover cheesecake; refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Remove from tin just before serving. Serve cheesecake with plum syrup
- TO MAKE THE SYRUP: Place reserved plum juice, liqueur and rind into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil; simmer, uncovered, until reduced by half. Cool.
How to – Thermomix
- Grease sides and line the base of 23cm spring form tin.
- Place the butter in the Thermomix and melt for 3 minutes at 60 degrees on speed 2. Check that butter has completely melted.
- Add biscuits and blitz for 5 seconds on speed 9. Scrape down base and sides of bowl and mix for a further 5 seconds on speed 9.
- Using the back of a spoon, press crumb mixture evenly over base of prepared tin. Cover and put in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150C/130C fan-forced. Drain plums over a jug, reserving the juice for the plum syrup. Carefully halve plums and remove the stones. Set aside.
- Combine all the remaining ingredients, except the plums and the almonds, in TM bowl. Mix for 30 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down base and sides of bowl and mix for another 5-10 seconds on speed 4. The mixture should be thick and smooth.
- Place tin on an oven tray, pour cheesecake mixture into tin. Top with plum halves and sprinkle with almonds. Bake in slow oven about 50 minutes, or until just firm. Cool in oven with door ajar.
- Cover cheesecake; refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Remove from tin just before serving. Serve cheesecake with plum syrup.
- TO MAKE THE SYRUP: Place reserved plum juice, liqueur and rind into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil; simmer, uncovered, until reduced by half. Cool.
