Real vanilla bean cheesecake with blueberry topping

Everyone who knows me knows that I always order a cheesecake for dessert when I’m dining out. I have always wanted to try making it at home and now I can say with some confidence that I know how to make a decent one. I would still recommend that you buy one off the shelf rather than make one at home, simply because cream cheese is so expensive in India and It’s not worth it to make a huge one for a dinner party. But my love for baking and my gluttony for cheesecake make me want to bake it again and again!

My version involves a shortbread crust to go with the cheesecake but you could do with a biscuit/cracker base as well. I always use fresh vanilla scraped off the vanilla bean, but this can most definitely be substituted with vanilla extract.

This cheesecake is actually a shortcut version of the actual one; it takes only 20 minutes to bake and a couple of hours to chill before serving. I used Philadelphia cream cheese, which is the classic cheese used for cheesecakes. But you could also try ricotta, mascarpone, curd cheese or cottage cheese. However, if you want the taste to be spot on, go for Philadelphia cream cheese. It’s expensive but it makes the cut.

I can think of a few things you should remember while doing cheesecakes. First, all the ingredients must remain at room temperature. The cream cheese should be beaten till smooth and creamy without any lumps, and at a slow speed to reduce the amount of air incorporated into the batter. Cheesecakes are baked in a slow oven to prevent cracking and are done when the filling is set but still a little wet and wobbly in the centre. Let cool before covering and placing in the refrigerator for several hours, or even overnight. I tend to add a little grated lemon zest to the batter to perk up the flavours a bit, but then this is just my way of doing it.

This one is a basic cheesecake with vanilla bean flavouring; so it’s versatile in terms of what you wish to serve it with. Fresh strawberries, preserved blueberries, chocolate sauce or any other topping that suits your palate.

 Prep time: 15min

Cooking time: 1hr

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients
Shortbread Crust

130g plain flour

35g icing sugar

1/8 tsp salt

113g cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

Filling

450g of full fat cream cheese, room temperature

130g granulated white sugar

1/8 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean scraped

½ tsp grated lemon zest

120ml sour cream, room temperature

Method

Shortbread Crust

Lightly butter a non-stick 8-9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse till combined evenly. Add the butter cubes and pulse till the pastry starts to come together in small bread crumb-like lumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and using your fingers tips and knuckles, gently pressing the pastry into the base and up the sides of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to even out the surface of the pastry. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (so it won’t rise while baking), cover the tart pan with cling film and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15-20 min to chill (so it won’t shrink while baking).

Preheat the oven to 220°C. When the pastry is completely chilled, place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 -15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C.

Filling

Beat the cream cheese on low speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and salt and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and sour cream and beat until incorporated. Transfer the filling to the tart pan. 

Bake for about 18 -22 minutes or until firm but the centres of the cheesecakes still wobble a little. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (a few hours or even overnight).

Serve with strawberry or raspberry sauce, fresh berries, or drizzle with melted chocolate. These cheesecakes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Lemon Tart

This one has been pending for a really long time. For those who love the tang and sharpness of the versatile lemon, this is the dessert to kill for. It consists of a beautiful buttery shortbread crust with a smooth and creamy lemon filling inside. I have tweaked the recipe a little bit to include cream cheese in the filling (unconventional, I know), but it hits the right chords with an almost cheesecake like consistency which is light, yet full of the tanginess and zest of fresh lemons. The topping of whipped creams tempers the tartness of the lemon filling, and gives it a nice fancy presentation.

Unlike the usual puff pastry, the shortbread crust is fast and easy to put together. Although we are going to pre bake the shortbread crust, there is no need to line the pastry crust with parchment paper, and fill it with pie weights to prevent the pastry from puffing up during baking. This step is eliminated when you freeze the tart shell before baking.

If you serve this tart the day it is made, the crust will be crispy and the flavour of the lemon intense; but if you refrigerate it overnight, the shortbread crust softens a bit and the sharpness of the lemon filling mellows. Either way, it’s delicious. And, it’s the perfect addition to a Sunday morning English breakfast.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going; so we will go one step at a time. First the shortbread crust, then the filling, the baking, cooling and topping.

Prep time: 20min

Cooking time: 1hr 15min

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients

Crust

130g plain flour

35g icing sugar

1/8 tsp salt

113g cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

Lemon filling

140g cream cheese, room temperature

100g caster sugar

60ml fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Topping

120ml cold heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Shortbread Crust

Lightly butter a non-stick 8-9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse till combined evenly. Add the butter cubes and pulse till the pastry starts to come together in small bread crumb-like lumps. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and using your fingers tips and knuckles, gently pressing the pastry into the base and up the sides of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to even out the surface of the pastry. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (so it won’t rise while baking), cover the tart pan with cling film and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15-20 min to chill (so it won’t shrink while baking).

Preheat the oven to 220°C. When the pastry is completely chilled, place the tart pan on a larger baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 -15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 175°C.

Lemon filling

In a food processor or electric mixer, place the cream cheese and process until smooth. Add sugar and process until incorporated. Add the eggs and process until thoroughly combined. Add the lemon juice and zest and process until well blended and smooth. Pour filling into pre baked tart shell and bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer tart to a wire rack to cool and then cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least an hour.

Topping

 Put your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Then beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. You can just spread the whipped cream over the filling or transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag and pipe swirls over the entire surface of the tart. Refrigerate until serving time.

Mushroom and baby spinach tarts

This one is a real cracker, especially for a flawless first impression with your guests! Serve it as a starter, and see the impressed look on the faces of your worst food critics. Nobody is going to forget this welcome surprise; and I speak with experience when I say that.

If you can’t find white wine to work this recipe, don’t bother making it. The wine lifts and enhances the flavour of the dish to a different level; and I highly recommend that it is not omitted or replaced with something else.

So what’s important here is the making/baking of the actual tart shell. This requires a bit of hard work; read my blog on ‘The perfect puff pastry' and master this skill! I would advice you to practice puff pastry-making at least once before your final day; as there are a couple of ‘moments of truth’ involved in making them. Be sure to get your puff pastry right for a good crispy tart shell.

The rest of the dish is relatively simple for any home cook. It’s a fun starter for any party, so chuck that tandoori paneer out of the window, and think out of the box.




Serves: 6
Prep time: 60min (to bake the tart shells, can be done a day in advance)
Cooking time: 25min (includes oven time of 5-10min)
Baking tools: Baking sheet, ovenproof tart moulds/shells

Ingredients
200g fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and drained
100g mushrooms, chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp butter
1tsp olive oil
Red chilli flakes
Grated processed cheese, 1 cube
Salt to taste
White wine
Ground black pepper
Fresh rosemary, 1 sprig
Parmesan cheese
Black olives, pitted and sliced for garnish
Pre-baked tart shells

Method
Blanch the spinach leaves in hot water for 2-3min without a lid. Pull out the spinach leaves with tongs and shock treat by placing them in an ice cold water bath (helps retain the green colour). Remove and chop finely. Keep aside.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add the chopped garlic, red chilli flakes and some fresh rosemary to the pan. Allow the garlic to brown sufficiently. Now add the chopped mushroom along with a pinch of salt; stir till the mushrooms are soft and release all their moisture. Add ground black pepper, and some more salt if necessary.

Turn the heat down to medium low, and add 3-4tbsp of white wine (be generous). Let simmer on a low flame till the wine is absorbed. Now add the chopped spinach, grated processed cheese, and some more rosemary. Stir till all the elements are well-combined and the mixture gains a thick consistency. The mixture will thicken on cooling.

Spoon the mixture into the pre-baked tart shells (let the shells remain in the ovenproof tart moulds). Garnish with some grated parmesan and a couple of sliced black olives. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5-10min.

Remove the tarts from their moulds, serve hot.

Bench notes
You can keep your pre-baked tart shells ready a day in advance. They easily keep in a refrigerator for 24-48hr in a closed air tight box. However, keep them as they are in their tart moulds, so they don’t break or crumble.

The perfect puff pastry

A basic puff pastry fulfils innumerable needs for a kitchen addict. I use it to make pies, flans, tarts, tortillas, rolls, samosas (yes, baked ones!), biscuits and crumbles. Sweet or savoury, whatever the need of the day, puff pastry always provides a classy and contemporary base element pulling all the flavours of your dish together. Although very versatile in its usage, it can be a bit messy for a nascent learner. So read the instructions carefully, and you should be fine. Those who get it right the first time feel like it’s the easiest thing to make, but for those who struggle with it, it sort of becomes a love-hate relationship- love to eat it, hate to make it. I hope I can help you to join the former group!

It does help, that as Indians, we are very accustomed to the idea of kneading dough for our mums and rolling out perfectly round paranthas like second religion. So keep what you learnt from mum in mind, because you will thank her when you present your guests with the most delightful apple pies and mushroom tarts! Fingers crossed!

Alright, let’s talk shop.

There is some technique involved in not just making the dough, but also baking it. The recipe below is a very general one, and can be edited as per the intended use of the pastry. I have divided this recipe into two halves, the first for dough preparation and the second for baking the puff pastry.


Serves: Enough to line a 25cm tin
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 90 min (includes 30 min chilling time)

Ingredients
For dough preparation
125g plain flour (chilled)
75g salted butter (for savoury)/unsalted butter (for desserts); chilled and cut into small cubes
50-60ml sour cream
Baking sheet

Method
For dough preparation
You can either use a food processor or your humble hands to make the dough. Whatever you chose, make sure that you always maintain the low temperature of the mixture.

In the food processor: Place the plain flour and chilled butter cubes in a food processor and blend till the flour and butter resemble a large breadcrumb consistency. Quickly, add the sour cream to this mix, and pulse slowly, never for more that 2 seconds. Use your discretion to add the sour cream; do not add all of it if not necessary. Use a chilled spatula (kept in the refrigerator) to remove the dough from the food processor.

OR, use your hands: Place the plain flour in a big bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes to the flour, gently using your fingertips (both hands please, we need to work fast) and incorporating the butter into the flour. For your first attempt, place this bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice (add some salt to the ice so it wont melt away quickly). Once the dough resembles the consistency of large bread crumbs, start adding the sour cream. Add very little at a time, making sure that the mixture is still cold and not turning too wet or sticky. Do not knead too much.

Now work quickly placing the dough on a baking sheet (so it won’t stick) and pull the dough together with your hands into a neat rectangle. Do not knead; this increases the temperature of the mixture, melting the butter and making the dough sticky. Cover the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30min before baking.

Bench notes for dough preparation
Your mantra while making this dough should be to maintain the chilled temperature of the dough. Chilled flour, chilled butter, chilled sour cream, chilled spatula, chilled bowls, and chilled hands!

If you do not have sour cream, mix some fresh cream with homemade curd or commercially available plain yoghurt. Remember, the final amount of sour cream should equal 50-60ml, not more.

Ingredients
For baking
Cooking tin
Baking sheet
Salted butter (for savoury)/ Unsalted butter (for desserts)
Kidney beans (or any other beans for blind baking)
Plain flour (for dough rolling)

Method 
For baking
Once the dough is cold, remove it from the refrigerator and turn it on to a well-floured bench covered with baking sheet. Roll into desired shape, flouring generously.

If making a pie or tart, you need to blind bake the pastry first, before you add any filling to it. To do this, butter the inside of your cooking tin, place the rolled pastry in the tray and cut out any extra bits. When lining the tin with pastry, have the pastry come up high on the sides, as it will shrink on baking. Place a cut-out piece of the baking sheet in the tin, covering the base of the pastry. Now place fistfuls of dry kidney beans (these are your blind weights) in the pastry shell. Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 10-12 min until slightly brown. Remove the blind weights, and the piece of baking sheet, and bake for a further 5 min. Remove, add filling of your choice and bake as per the need of your filling.

Bench notes for baking
Blind baking is a technique used to cook and crisp the pastry shell, before adding a filling to it. If the filling is added without blind baking first, the pastry will be soft and probably uncooked at the bottom.

Blind weights are used to prevent the pastry from rising. You want your pastry as a base for your pies, so you need to make sure it remains flat.

A baking sheet is used to cover the base of your pastry before adding the blind weights, because you don’t want the beans to leave behind impressions on your pastry base.

Do not add any baking powder to the dough; remember you don’t want it to rise. This is not a cake. It’s a pastry base.

Try it, I know you can do it!