Easy New York Baked Cheesecake 

INGREDIENTS

• 300g sweet biscuit digestive or ginger, crushed into crumbs
• 65g butter, melted
• 700g cream cheese
• 300g sour cream
• 200g sugar
• 75ml fresh pouring cream
• 10g vanilla bean paste
• 2 eggs
• 4 yolks*

METHOD

Prep for base:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line the bottom of a 23cm (9 inches) round springform pan with baking paper.
2. Mix the sweet biscuit crumbs and melted butter until it resembles moist sand. You should be able to clump it together in your hand. Press the crumbs evenly on bottom of the pan and up 1cm on the sides.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cool completely. Wrap the bottom of your springform pan with several layers of aluminium foil to prevent water from soaking into the bottom of your cake while baking in the water bath.
4. Prepare a high-sided roasting pan with warm water.

Prep for batter:

1. Turn your oven down to 150°C.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar/flour mixture until smooth and creamy. Scrape your bowl often to ensure it mixes everything thoroughly or it could become lumpy.
3. Add sour cream, beat again and scrape bowl. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beat and scrape bowl well after every other addition. Lastly, add vanilla paste and fresh cream.
4. Pour your batter onto the cooled cheesecake crust.
5. Bake in a water bath for two hours, or until the middle looks like a tight drum. Turn off oven and rest the cheesecake in the oven for an additional one hour. Refrigerate overnight to set.
6. Decorate with seasonal fruit or topping of your choice.