Baked cheese cake

Wine pairing: Leopard’s Leap Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir

Ingredients:

The crust

200g coconut biscuits, finely crushed

100g unsalted butter

The filling

4x 230g full fat cream cheese, room temperature

¾ cup castor sugar

3 tablespoons cornflour

4 eggs

2 lemons, zest and juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup cream

¼ teaspoon salt

Toppings:

200g white chocolate

60ml cream

1 cup of mixed berries

½ cup cherries

2 rosemary sprigs

Method:

The crust

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Prepare a 25cm round cake pan by greasing and lining with baking paper.
3. In a bowl, combine biscuits with melted butter.
4. In the prepared pan, transfer the biscuit mix. Using a glass or cup with a flat base, gently smooth out the biscuit layer and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

 The filling

1. In a mixing bowl, using a handheld electric whisk or a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add castor sugar and cream together with the cream cheese
2. Add in eggs one at a time until everything is well combined.
3. To the mixture, add lemon zest, juice, vanilla extract, cream and salt. Mix well at slow speed.
4. Transfer mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
5. When complete the top will look golden in colour and little wobbly in the center. Remove from the fridge and cool completely. Place in the refrigerator overnight to set.

Toppings:

1. To make the ganache melt chocolate together with cream in a double boiler or microwave. Do not overheat.
2. Stirring in between letting the ganache cool down. Once the ganache has cooled off and it has become thick, pour over the cheesecake.
3. Decorate with fresh berries, cherries and rosemary sprigs around the cheesecake to create a wreath-look and enjoy cold.