By Alice Murphy For Daily Mail Australia 06:31 02 Jun 2020, updated 06:36 02 Jun 2020
- A mother has followed Stephanie Alexander's recipe for New York cheesecake
- She called it the 'best ever' and said it never fails to look and taste great
- The trick is to bake in a tray of water and bring ingredients to room temperature
- The Melbourne chef's recipe is described as 'exceptionally creamy'
- She has been feeding Australians since her first restaurant opened in 1966
Home cooks can make a professional-standard dessert in their own kitchens by using Australian chef Stephanie Alexander's recipe for the 'best-ever' cheesecake.
A mother shared photos of a New York-style baked cheesecake in a cookery group on Facebook, telling members how she followed the 79-year-old Melbourne chef's instructions on Good Food which 'never fail' to make it 'look and taste great'.
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The secrets to Ms Alexander's 'exceptionally creamy' cake that cooks without a single crack is bringing ingredients to room temperature before mixing them and baking the cheesecake in a tray of water.
The added moisture prevents the surface from cracking just like moisturisers hydrate and strengthen skin.
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Ms Alexander eliminates the risk of lumpy texture - the second major hurdle chefs encounter in baked cheesecakes - by leaving eggs and cream cheese out of the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes before cooking.
This allows them to reach room temperature where fats and dairy mix faster and smoother.
Unlike cracks, which don't affect flavour, lumps are a sign of poor or incomplete mixing which taints the taste of a cake, so bringing ingredients to room temperature is an important step to follow when making any type of baked dessert.
But it's equally important to avoid mixing the filling too vigorously or for too long.
Ms Alexander warns that over-beating the sugar, cheese, butter and cornflour can cause the cake to sink in the oven as the extra air whisked into the cheese deflates under heat.
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Her baked cheesecake is one of hundreds of personal recipes featured online and in the 17 cookery books she has authored.
The restaurateur has been feeding Australians for 54 years since she opened her first restaurant, Jamaica House, in her native Melbourne in 1966 at the age of 23.
Beset with a string of financial hardships linked to an ill-fated decision to open a second branch, Ms Alexander left Jamaica House and started working in the kitchen of renowned restaurateur, Mietta O'Donnell.
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By 1976, she was back at the helm of another restaurant, the eponymous Stephanie's in Fitzroy, which was a star of the Melbourne food scene throughout the 1980s.
On January 26, 1994, Ms Alexander was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to the hospitality and tourist industry, chiefly for her longstanding commitment to training and encouraging young apprentices.
In February 2004, she established the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, a non-profit that develops culinary programmes for schools across Australia.
She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia on January 26, 2014 for her work in championing education around healthy food.
The Foundation announced a partnership with Coles supermarket in February 2020 to help children access food education so they can learn how to grow, harvest and cook their own ingredients.
The recipe for the baked cheesecake can be found here.
How to make salted caramel baked cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
For the salted caramel
270g soft caramels, shop bought (Werther's Originals work well)
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
For the cheesecake
250g crushed sweet biscuits
100g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
500g cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
200ml sour cream
METHOD
For the salted caramel
1. Save 1/4 cup caramel for drizzling
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the caramels, cream and salt. Begin pushing them around the pan and as soon as they move freely, turn the heat down to low and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth.
3. Allow to cool to room temperature before proceeding.
4. You can make the base of the cheesecake while you wait.
For the cheesecake
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/140C fan forced.
2. Grease and line the base and sides of an 8 inch round spring form tin. Use a food processor or blender to process the biscuits to fine crumbs. Add the cinnamon and ginger and process to combine. Add the melted butter and blitz one more time to combine completely. Tip the mixture into your prepared tin and press down all over the base and up the sides about 2 inches.
3. Set aside 1/4 cup of caramel for drizzling later.
4. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or handheld beater, beat the cream cheese, the remaining caramel and sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla beating until each is well incorporated. Beat for a further 2 minutes on a low to medium setting. Add the sour cream and beat until just combined.
6. Pour the filling into the biscuit base and smooth over the top as much as possible.
7. Place the tin onto the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for around 55-65 minutes or until the centre is almost set. There should be a very slight wobble in the centre. Leave it to cool in the oven with the oven off and the door ajar for 1/2 an hour then take it out and let cool at room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Finally, transfer to the fridge to cool completely.
To serve
1. Mix a little water into the leftover caramel and heat for 15 seconds in the microwave. Drizzle over the top of the cake and the slices once served.
Source: Sugar Salt Magic
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