Baked Vanilla Cheesecake

It's a friend of mines Birthday next weekend and her favorite dish is baked vanilla cheesecake, it's not something I've ever made before. Don't get me wrong I love cheesecake and I've made plenty of cheesecakes which do not require cooking but don't think I've made a cheesecake which has required baking for a very very long time!

This is my practice round and although I am thinking it should be ok, I've read nightmares about cheesecakes cracking and that is not what I want to happen to mine!! I am hoping I am not tempting fate by attempting a second recipe of the day - my focaccia turned out so beautifully this morning - have I used up all my luck for the day? I hope not. So here goes...

The Recipe is taken from Stephanie Alexander's book 'The Cooks Companion' so far I have been fairly disappointed by this book, from first site its a mass of really great information - which in itself is very good but its the recipe's for me so far which has been what has let this book down. Mind you it could be the cook and not the recipe of course.

Not only is this a baked cheesecake recipe but its labelled the best-ever cheesecake, and if anything is going to jinx it the name is. I already know the best cheesecake recipe ever is my mums white chocolate and raspberry recipe. Anyhows here goes...

The Recipe - Best-Ever Cheesecake by Stephanie Alexander

100g butter melted

300g wheatmeal biscuits

500g cream cheese at room temperature

200g caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

3 eggs

2 tbsp lemon juice

few drops of pure vanilla (i used vanilla bean paste)

pinch of salt

2 cups sour cream

The Method

1. Preheat the over to 180 degrees, brush base and side of a 22 cm x 6 cm deep springform tin with a little of the melted butter. Remove base from tin. Cut a round of baking powder to fit base of tin, brush paper with a little butter and set aside. Tear off an 80 cm sheet of foil and double it over so it measures 40 cm in length. Lay foil over base of tin, then put buttered round of paper on top. Sit springform tin over base and lock sides in place, leaving excess foil outside of the tin. Draw up the excess foil and fold it out of the way. You now have a water tight container.
2. Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Add remaining butter and process. Press crumb mixture into the base of the tin, tapping firmly with the base of a glass.
3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the cornflour and then add eggs 1 at a time, beating each time until just smooth. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Add sour cream and beat gently yo combine.
4. Pour batter into tin and stand tin in a larger baking dish. Pour in boiling water to come up halfway up the sides of the tin. Bake for 50 minutes then turn off the oven but do not open the door for 1 hour.
5. Lift tin from water bath and flatten foil away from the sides just in case there is any water trapped inside. Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or over night before serving.

Preparing the tin actually took longer than making this dessert, it was quick and easy to put together. I did struggle finding a water bath to fit my cheesecake pan, and ended up using a pyrex bowl. After an hour cooking and an hour in an off oven it looked beautiful but still had a slight wobble which worried me somewhat thinking that perhaps it might not be set, but as it got cooler it wobbled less. The cheesecake had come slightly away from the side of the pan which was good and helped it come out of the tin.