New York Cheesecake:

Now that I've finished my 'tartes', I thought I would move on to my speciality: Cheesecakes! This first one is baked very gently and it is so undeniably scrumptious that I wouldn't miss learning how to make this ever. You'll need:

900g cream cheese (Philadelphia will do just fine, but it MUST be whole fat)

180g caster sugar

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1 vanilla pod

11g vanilla sugar (1 sachet)

4 eggs

130g unsalted butter, melted

200g digestive biscuits

OVEN: 150°C (Fan 130°C). Grease a 23cm round springform tin and line the base with baking parchment. Cover the outside of the tin in foil so the base is completely water-tight. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until finely ground, and slowly pour in the melted butter, with the motor still running. Press this into the base and compress using the palm of your hands or perhaps the back of a tbsp. Bake this blind for approx.5 - 10 minutes.

Next, put the cheese and the sugar in a bowl and beat on low speed with a hand mixer until it becomes very smooth and thick. Then add the vanilla extract, sugar and seeds (scraped out from the inside of the pod).

Add the eggs one by one, while still mixing. By the end you should have a very creamy (fr. onctueux) and smooth. Remember to scrape unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl using a rubber spatula. You can now turn up the mixer to high speed to make the mix lighter and fluffier but for a few minutes only. DO NOT OVERMIX OR THE CHEESE WILL SPLIT!

Spoon this onto the cold base and place in a much larger roasting tin. Fill to ⅔ up the sides of the smaller tin with water (bain-marie-ish) and bake for 30-35 minutes. It should be a light gold and still wobbly in the centre. IT WILL NOT LOOK COOKED. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then cover and put in fridge overnight. The next day it will have set beautifully.

VARIANT: You can also fold in chopped cookies, brownies or berries just before baking.