Bea Tollman’s Vanilla Cheesecake
Servings
12
peopleIngredients
- Cheesecake
1.35kg Philadelphia cream cheese
6 eggs, separated (room temperature)
350g granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, spilt and seeds scraped out
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
450ml sour cream
A pinch of kosher salt
A 20cm spring mold
- Topping
450ml sour cream
50g sugar
- Crust
250g finely ground digestive biscuit crumbs
65g white sugar
120g butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions
- For the crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon until well blended. Press the mixture into the mold to ensure a thin, consistent layer and bake at 190°C for 7 minutes. Leave to cool, then chill for an hour.
- Whip the cream cheese and half the sugar. Add the egg yolks, vanilla seeds, vanilla extract, salt and sour cream, and whip thoroughly, scraping the bowl.
- Whip the egg whites with the rest of the sugar. Fold the whites into the cheese mixture and very gently pour into the prepared pan. Wrap the bottom of the mold pan and place in a water bath.
- Bake in the oven for an hour at 180°C, then turn off the heat and allow to remain in the oven for another hour.
- Remove, cool on a rack, and then refrigerate for 12 hours.
- To finish, pre-heat the oven to 100°C. Mix the sour cream and sugar for the topping, top the chilled cheesecake, and bake for 20 minutes. Finally, chill for 24 hours before serving.