A Not-Quite-Nigella Interpretation of a Nigella Classic

It's not a secret that Nigella's food is not for people who care about waistlines. I had this late-night talk with my good friend Jake, who gave me an advice about making desserts: you can never go wrong with Nigella's recipe. It is quite true, considering I've posted a Nigella-inspired chocolate pear pudding way back. That had been unsuccessful because my family wasn't familiar with pears. 

But cheesecake... oh boy! I had to make two batches to accommodate the demand! I serve it like how Nigella served it on her episode: after the the cheesecake had set, she poured the fruit preserve on top. I thought this was a good idea because my two picky bros don't like fruit on their cheesecake. So, I served them their fruit-less slices, and slathered pie filling generously on my parents' portions (and on mine, too XD)

Having scoured the web for cheesecake's humble beginnings, it was interesting to find that the earliest version of this guilty treat dates back to ancient Greece (Aegimus' (πλακουντοποιικόν σύγγραμμα—plakountopoiikon suggramma)! /Thanks, Wikipedia~/ The modern cheesecake may have evolved from 'placenta', one of the two types of ceremonial cakes listed in Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura. What if the name 'cheesecake' didn't become a household name? 

'Would you like some placenta with your grande-sized caramel machiatto?'

The modern cream cheese came to be centuries later in 1872 when New Yorker William Lawrence accidentally made a type of 'unripened cheese' that is heavier and creamier than the cheese he was trying to remake (it was called Neufchâtel). Then in 1912, James Kraft of that famous cheese company pasteurized Lawrence's concoction and made way for the cream cheese commonly used today. It's probably just me, but I think it's why cheesecake is typically associated with New York, if you consider how the base ingredient came to be.

Nigella's Express Retro Blueberry Cheesecake

Nigella's original recipe called for cherry preserves; specifically, St. Dalfour Rhapsodie de Fruit Black Cherry Spread. But, my mum wasn't able to find any sort of cherry preserves (even Smucker's brand) in the local grocery, so she took home a can of classic blueberry pie filling (sorry, Nigella).

Her recipe is quite easy, actually (hence the 'express') and very sinfully addicting. However, she did say the cheesecake will be 'soft set but slice-able'. So, don't be surprised if you got a panna cotta-y cheesecake sitting in your fridge. For the sake of being able to hold the cheesecake's shape while shooting on a nice, humid, sunny day, I admit to storing this slice in the freezer before taking a photo. Nigella said not to freeze it even if it's tempting but... oh well, I'm not her, am I? XDDDD

Ingredients

125 g (10 pcs) digestives (McVitie's Light)

75 g. room temp. unsalted butter

300 g room temp cream cheese 

60 g (8 tbsp) icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon juice

250 ml double cream or whipping cream

fruit preserve or fruit topping of choice

Directions 

1. Manually crush and mix or blitz together the digestive biscuits and butter in a food processor.

2. Press the sandy mix into the base of a spring form tin or lined cake tin. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the room temp cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice.

4. In another mixing bowl, pour in the double cream or whipping cream and whip until soft peaks form.

5. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream and pour over the digestive base.

6. Chill in the fridge for three hours.

7. Pour over the fruit preserve of choice before serving.

Quite simple, right? If you are concerned about the texture, you may add 3 tbsp of warm milk with 1 tbsp of unflavored gelatin powder into the cream cheese-icing sugar mixture before folding into the whipped cream. 

Blueberry cheesecake's a rich dessert, which I would (unsurprisingly) have with tea. I keep on saying Earl Grey is a go-to dessert time tea, a tropical fruit-infused black tea also works. For instance, I think it went very well with Twining's Mango-Orange-and-Passion Fruit tea. I discovered this combination when I passed by a yogurt shop that displayed a poster of their best-selling combination: blueberry and mango-topped frozen yogurt. I thought the same principle could work with cheesecake and tea and gave it a try :D

However way you enjoy a cheesecake, never forget to drink your water (^_^)d