Show off cheesecake

There are some desserts that I know are going to make a good impression. I generally bust these out when I want to show off or when I can't think of anything new and I want to make something I know will be delicious.

My friend invited me to lunch today. The other people at the lunch included her parents who had just arrived from Ireland and some other friends who I have heard about heaps of times but think only meet once (and that was at a Halloween Party so everyone was in costume). I said I would bring dessert and I wanted something that would impress and knew that this cheesecake would definitely hit the mark. I also wanted to use the rest of the salted caramel sauce from Thursday night's Whoopie Pies. The result, a superbly creamy cheesecake with a salty/sweet cream topping.

Vanilla Baked Cheesecake

Adapted from David Herbert's The Perfect Cookbook.

1 x packet plain Oreo biscuits

60g butter, melted

500g cream cheese

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 eggs, separated

1/2 cup thickened cream

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1 cup extra thickened cream

Grease a 23m springform cake tin and line base with baking paper.

Place the biscuits in plastic zip lock bag and crush using the back of a wooden spoon or rolling pin. Melt the butter in the microwave and stir into biscuit crumbs. Using fingertips or the back of a spoon, press the biscuit crumb mix into the base of the cake tin. Refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and caster sugar until soft, creamy and well combined. Add the egg yolks, cream and vanilla. Beat for about 2 - 3 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. If your mixture is not light enough, your cheesecake will not be as soft, so don't beat til just combined.

Clean and dry beaters and in a clean bowl beat egg whites to stiff peaks. With a metal spoon, carefully fold the eg whites through the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon mixture into prepared cake tin. Bake immediately for 35 - 40 minutes. You don't check if a cheesecake is ready like you do a cake, it's good if the middle isn't properly set. The trick is to see if there's a small wobble in the centre, and take it out if the top is starting to crack.

Allow the cheese cake to cool completely then prepare the cream topping. Beat extra cream until thick. Stir in about 100mL salted caramel sauce (instructions in previous post). Cover top of cheesecake with cream and smooth with spatula or metal spoon. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight (or for about 3 to 4 hours to set).

Before serving, grate some chocolate over the top or dust with cocoa. ENJOY!