Classic Baked Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 200g / 7 oz Arnott’s Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
• 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb / 500g cream cheese, softened (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• Icing sugar / powdered sugar, for dusting

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).
2. Prepare pan – Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video. Butter and line the side of the pan.
3. Blitz – Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
4. Press into pan – Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls. Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
5. Beat cream cheese – Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until smooth – about 30 seconds on medium high,.
6. Finish batter – Add flour, beat until just combined (10 sec). Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 – 15 sec). Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (10 sec each). Don't over beat, we don't want to aerate the batter.
7. Bake – Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
8. Cool in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8" (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
9. Remove springform pan sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
10. Serve – Top with berries and dust with icing sugar!