Bakewell Cheesecake

Whilst browsing afternoon tea recipes I came across this idea, a Bakewell cheesecake, and I couldn't resist. I do like Bakewell tarts, however, I usually find that they are a little dry and I struggle to eat them, however, I really enjoy the flavour combinations.  

I found this recipe on BBC Good Food website. I'm so glad I did, as you'll see from the verdict, this was an outstanding success. 

First step is to make the biscuit base, this is made by crushing almond biscuits and flaked almonds before adding melted butter and almond extract. I struggled finding the almond biscuits as they didn't have them in the usual supermarkets but fortunately my sister found them in M and S and was able to get us some. I'm glad she did as I think they probably really added something to the base. Definitely worth investing in some if you can. 

Once the base was all mixed together this was placed into a loose bottomed tin and baked for 10 minutes. I've never baked a biscuit base before so this was a novel idea. This was then left to cool whilst I made the filing. 

Biscuit base filling

I made the filing by mixing the cream cheese until it was soft, to this I added in the sugar until it was combined. Finally I added the flour, vanilla, eggs and soured cream until the whole mix was fully combined. 

Creamy Cheesecake Mixture

To make up the cheesecake I added spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixer onto the base with spoonfuls of cherry jam placed in the middle. I tried to add these so they were scatter throughout the cheesecake so there were lovely clumps of jam amongst the mixture. 

Spoonfuls of Jam Amongst the Cheesecake

The made cheesecake was then placed in the oven and baked for 10 mins at 200oC, the temperature was then turned down to 110oC and baked for a further 35 mins. The oven was then turned off and the cheesecake was left in the oven for a further hour to cool. The recipe states that you should leave the cheesecake where it is with the oven door open, however, we just didn't have time for this as well so we took the cheesecake out at this point. The cheesecake is then left to cool at room temperature before placing in the fridge overnight to set. 

Scattered with Almonds and Baked

The cheesecake needed to stay in the fridge until it was time to serve it, we did try and get it out sooner, but it started to melt so it went back into the fridge. I served the cheesecake as a whole piece and on a cake stand. 

Cheesecake placed on Cake Stand

Inside View of the Cheesecake

Verdict: This cheesecake was delicious, the combinations of flavours was really tasty and balanced. I liked that the cheesecake mixture balanced nicely with the strong flavour of the biscuits and the sweet fruitiness of the jam. I gave the cheesecake 10/10. Gary also gave it 10/10 as did my mum. So in total this recipe got 30/30. There is nothing that needs to be changed and the flavours are just perfect. This is certainly a recipe I'll be keeping and I'm looking forward to enjoying my final 2 pieces that are left of the current one. Would definitely recommend this recipe.