4 medium lemons or 3 large 5 extra large free range eggs 200g caster sugar 500g smooth cottage cheese (2 tubs) 250g crème fraiche (1 tub) 250g mascarpone cheese (1 tub) 25 ml measuring spoon of corn flour
We used fruit from the garden for the topping. 12 granadillas ½ cup raspberries
First crush your biscuits. I used one cake tin (normal cake tin size) and one springform tin (to make two different cheesecakes) - This mixture should by rights only fill one springform tin, but I wanted to have two cakes so I split it.
The best trick is to line the inside of the cake tin with foil (makes picking it out of the tin really simple) and wrap the foil over the sides and tuck it underneath the tin. With the springform tin just line the base with foil but make sure there is enough hanging out the bottom to wrap up the sides to the top. Like this:
Melt the margarine and mix into the biscuit crumbs. Line the bottom of both tins with the mixture. Press down and stick in the fridge to harden slightly.
In a liquidiser or blender place:
4 eggs, the sugar, the zest of 3 of the lemons and the juice of 2. Liquidise until the zest is finely chopped. Then add the mascarpone cheese and the cornflour. Blend again until well mixed. Pour this into a mixing bowl. Whisk into the mix the two tubs of cream cheese and the tub of Crème Fraiche. (simply add to the blender and his whizz!)
Take the cake tin out of the fridge. Fill the cake tin until the mixture stops short of 1 cm from the top. Place back in the fridge. Cut open 8 granadillas and scoop out the pulp into a sieve over a bowl. Mix really well until most of the pulp has squished through the sieve. Place the seeds and pulp left into a little warm water (about 150 ml) and mix really well with a a fork or horseshoe whisk to remove more pulp. Sieve this into the pulp bowl. Then add the de-seeded pulp to what remains of the cheesecake mix. Add the extra egg to this mixture and whisk well. Pour the mixture into the springform tin. Take the large springform tin and make sure that the foil is folded up the sides. Place in a baking dish and fill around the sides of the tin with pre boiled water until the water reaches halfway up the sides. Place in the oven and bake for 1 & a half hours. Leave to cool in the oven with the door closed for an hour after baking. Then remove it from the oven and take it out of the water bath and leave to cool completely before removing it from the tin. Which is really easy because you just take the sides off when you release the spring. Unfold the foil and simply slide the foil onto a plate. Then wrap the foil edges underneath the plate.
Now preheat the oven again to 160ºC and bake the smaller cheesecake in the cake tin in the same way (with the water bath) for an hour. Turn oven off and repeat the whole process. Taking this cake out of the tin when it's cooled entails unfolding the wrapped down foil, firmly holding it on both sides and lift it gently out of the tin trying your best not to flex the cake. Place on a plate and wrap the foil over the sides.
While the cakes are baking:
Wash the raspberries and put them in a deep microwave bowl. Cover with a lid. Place them in the microwave and microwave on high for a minute. Take out and stir into this goo 5 heaped teaspoons of caster sugar. Microwave again for a minute. Take out; stir. Put back in and microwave on medium / high for a further 4 minutes. Keep your eye on it because it wants to bubble over the sides. As soon as the mixture reaches the lid, open the microwave door until it subsides again. Continue intermittently like that until it's done 4 minutes.
Take out of the microwave and stir well. Leave to cool, to smother over the smaller cake later.
For the granadilla topping. - Note: I did notice that granadillas don't like metal spoons so only use a wooden spoon for this.
I couldn't do this in the microwave because it is too watery. Take the last 4 granadillas and repeat the process as before removing the pulp from the seeds. Keep adding water as needed to loosen the pulp from the seed and get it through the sieve. Put in a small saucepan and boil rapidly for 10 minutes on high so that it reduces to the point that it measures about 1 cm from the bottom of the saucepan. Now add 5 heaped teaspoons of caster sugar and boil again for another 8 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let cool to smother the top of the big cheesecake.
Allow both cakes to cool completely before smoothing the topping over. This is a cake I have to sample as soon as it's ready. Then you really should put it into the fridge so that the biscuit crust can harden properly. I use margarine for the crust, because when I've made the crust with butter it is too hard to cut through when you take it out of the fridge. (It's the one and only time I ever use margarine.)
Raspberries
The ellagic acid found in raspberries neutralises overly reactive oxygen cells (free radicals) which prevents damage to cell membranes. The flavanoid rich raspberry also has antimicrobial properties preventing the unhealthy growth of certain bacteria and fungi (such as Candida Albicans) which can also contribute to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Nutritionally raspberries contain Vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, C, fibre, folate, manganese, biotin, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc!
Wherever possible we use the fruits and nuts growing in the garden Fresher is Better!