We welcome recipes, particularly for items of Jewish interest such as cheesecake, cholla and Hamantaschen or items for Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah and Pesach. Please send contributions to comms@bromleyshul.org.uk

Sally’s Cooked Cheesecake (contributed 19/5/2020)

Ingredients:

Base: 3 oz butter or margarine
2 oz caster sugar
6 oz finely crushed digestive biscuits

Filling: 8 oz cottage, curd or cream cheese – depending on how rich you want the cheesecake to be
3 eggs separated
few drops of vanilla essence or juice and grated rind of half a lemon
4oz caster sugar
1oz plain flour
¼ pint double or whipping cream
¼ pint soured cream

Decoration: any fresh or tinned fruits well drained

Tin: 18-20cm (7-8inch) loose bottomed round cake tin.
Oven: 160̊F, 325̊C, Gas Mark 3 – preheated.

Melt the butter and mix with the other base ingredients. Butter the tin well. Press firmly into the bottom of the tin. Refrigerate while you are preparing the filling.

Soften the cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla essence, 2 oz of the caster sugar, the flour and the double cream. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the remaining caster sugar. Fold lightly but thoroughly into the cheese mixture. Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface.

Bake in the oven for 1-1½ hours or until firm but still spongy to the touch. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and leave for 1 hour. Spread the soured cream over the top of the cheesecake and chill in the tin until thoroughly cold. Remove carefully from the tin and decorate if desired.

Sally’s tips.

Use a food processor to crush the digestive biscuits and mix the base ingredients. Or put the digestive biscuits into a polythene bag and use a roller to crush them.

Mix the filling ingredients in the food processor. This is especially useful if you are using cottage cheese as it breaks up the cheese bobbles properly.

I line the bottom of the tin and ¼ inch up the sides with a circle of buttered greaseproof paper. This will stop the filling leaking out in the oven before it starts to cook and also holds the cake together when you serve it. The base does not stick to the paper so you don’t get a mouthful of paper with your cake.

Vicki’s Cheesecake
contributed 19/4/2020
Base:
150 g digestive biscuits
75g butter or block margarine
Large plastic bag (for crushing biscuits)

Filling
300g cream cheese or marscapone cheese
300 mls double cream
50g caster sugar
2 Tbsp chocolate chips (optional)
Fruit or chocolate to decorate

Method:

1. Crush biscuits in bag using a wooden rolling pin
2. Melt Margarine in a saucepan. Add biscuit crumbs and mix well.
3. Press into dish and leave to cool.
4. Whisk cream in a large bowl until it reaches the soft peak stage
5. Take half the whipped cream out of the large bowl and place in a smaller bowl, to use later for decoration.
6. Add cream cheese, sugar to the remaining cream and beat until smooth and holds its shape.
7. Stir in chocolate chips if using.
8. Pour over base and spread evenly.
9. Leave to set.
10. Decorate using leftover cream and fruit.

A Baked Cheesecake from Australia
contributed 19/4/2020

Base: 100g melted butter
300g digestive biscuits

Crush biscuits and add melted butter. Press into base of spring firm cake tin

Filling: 500g of cream cheese at room temperature
200g caster sugar
1 Tablespoon cornflour
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
5ml vanilla essemce
Pinch salt
2 cuts sour cream

Method: Preheat oven to 180
Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Beat in the cornflour, then add eggs one at a time.
Add lemon juice, vanilla essence and salt
Add sour cream and beat briefly to combine
Pour batter into tin of crushed biscuits
Bake for 50 mins. Turn oven off but do not take out of oven for a further hour.

Esther’s cheesecake
Is this a combination of two festivals?

For the biscuit base
o 150g digestive biscuits (about 10)
o 1 tbsp caster sugar
o 45g butter melted, plus extra for the tin
For the cheesecake
o 150g dark chocolate
o 120ml double cream
o 2 tsp cocoa powder
o 200g full-fat cream cheese
o 100g raspberries
o 115g caster sugar
Method
1. To make the biscuit base, crush the digestive biscuits with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor, then tip into a bowl, with the sugar and butter and stir to combine. Butter and line an 18cm springform tin and tip in the biscuit mixture, pushing it down with the back of a spoon. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
2. To make the cheesecake, melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, then leave to cool slightly. Whip the cream in a large bowl using an electric whisk until soft peaks form, then fold in the cocoa powder. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together, then fold in the cream mixture and the cooled chocolate. At the end carefully fold in the raspberries.
3. Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base, levelling it out with the back of a spoon. Transfer to the freezer and freeze for 2 hrs, or until set. Remove from the tin and leave at room temperature to soften for about 20 mins before serving