Manhattan Style American Cheesecake

Name: Manhattan Style American Cheesecake
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 10 h

August 17, 2018

Prep 30 min Total 10 hr

A Wedge of Manhattan Style Cheesecake © kvalifood.com

Cheese cake - An American cheesecake is made from real cream cheese, and in contrast to the “cheese cake” we usually eat in Denmark it is baked. It’s not a cake I bake very often for only the family. It is a dense and heavy cake where a single piece or two generally is enough. So a whole cheesecake never gets eaten here. But it is a fantastic cake. Especially when there are guests to share with.

Ingredients

the base

200 g digestive biscuits (half roll)
3 tbsp melted butter

the cheese filling

1200 g cream cheese, mascarpone, for example
225 g sugar (2½ dl - 1 cup)
3 tbsp flour (or cornflour)
1 vanilla pod, seeds from - or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
2½ dl sour cream (or drained Greek yogurt)
4 eggs
1 grated orange peel

garnish

1 dl strawberry jam without seeds.

Directions

The base

The above video is for an unbaked pie base, but the general process until the actual baking is the same.

Blend biscuits and butter together in a food processor. Or crumbs biscuits with your fingers and mix the butter.

Bake approximately 10 minutes at 150º C (300º

F).

The cheese filling

Mix everything together in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer, spoon or a meat-hook on a kitchen appliance.

Stir as little as possible. Too many air bubbles and the cake rises up when it bakes. Which is not the intention.

Pour it into the spring form on top of the baked base.

Garnish

Spread the jam over the cake in droppings. Run a knife through so it becomes marbled.

Baking

Bake for about 1- 1½ hours at

150º C (300º

F). Until the internal temperature is 70ºC

72ºC (160ºF). Use a probing meat thermometer the first few times.

It shall wobble slightly in the middle but not spill.

If you stick a knife into the middle of it, the cake should not stick to it when you pull it out.

The baking part is the most difficult to get right. Because the cake is so fluid, it is a very difficult cake to get right if you do not know the technique. Even the difference in the size of the springform is of important.

Notes

If you use my homemade mascarpone recipe, use 2 liters of cream. Make the final draining long. At least a day. If the cheese is too runny you risk that it drains liquid while baking. (I know this from bitter experience!)

The cake is best the next day.

Cheesecake is a variation of a baked cream .

The slightly acidic cheese is important for the taste of the cake. Without it, it tastes like it just like a giant creme brulee.