BAKED CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients
Crust: 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons brown sugar teaspoon nutmeg 3 tablespoons butter, softened cup ground walnuts cup plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Filling: 700g creamed cheese, softened 200g Ricotta or soft white cheese 1 cups of sugar 6 large eggs, separated 1 lemon (juice and zest) 3 tablespoons plain flour 1 cup of thick cream 1 cup of morello cherries

Products Required
Soffritto Spring Form Round Cake Tin 23 x 7cm

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BAKED CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C and butter a Soffritto 23cm non-stick springform cake tin. Remove the base of the cake tin from the sides and lay a piece of baking paper over the base. Replace the sides to hold the paper in place. First, prepare the crust. Using a food processor or blender, pulse together all the crust ingredients until stiff dough forms. Roll out the dough and press over the base of the cake pan. Bake at 200C for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the creamed cheese, white cheese and 1 cup of sugar and beat for 3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the juice and zest of the lemon and the plain flour and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until foaming, then add the remaining half cup of sugar, sprinkling the sugar into the egg whites while the motor is running. When all the sugar has been added, raise the speed of the mixer to the fastest, then allow the egg whites to beat until they are thick and glossy. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the beaten cream and the egg whites into the cheese mixture and combine thoroughly. Pour the batter into the cooled crust, then arange the cherries over the batter and gently stir a few in so that they drop below the surface. Bake at 200C for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 150C and cook for an hour. Turn off the oven heat and leave the cake in the oven undisturbed. When the cake has cooled, remove from the oven and chill overnight. Transfer the cake to a platter then gently ease the paper out from under the cake.