Worth the wait: The Handmade Cheesecake Company Recipe

This month, our guest blogger is Frances Barron of The Handmade Cheesecake Company!

For me, and many millions of people across the globe, cheesecake is an all-time favourite dessert. I’m surrounded by it now, but this wasn’t always the case. I grew up in a mining village with a very busy mother who, as well as a mum to 7 children, was a cook and baker in a restaurant. Desserts were everywhere, but cheesecake was not one of them. In the late 70s and early 80s, the creamily delicious dessert hadn’t really made its way to restaurant menus (or the shops!) in this country.

Mum was a fantastic cook and baker and the inspiration for my sister and I to set up our own company making cakes in 2002. She didn’t get her ideas from glossy magazines or the myriad of cooking shows with accompanying book of recipes that there are nowadays. It was just good old home-cooking for us, with recipes that had been passed down through the years. From old favourites like eaves pudding and apple crumble, to fruit tarts and lemon meringue pie, we learned our craft at the kitchen table helping her.

It was not until my early twenties that I discovered the joys of making cheesecake. I remember it well. It was 1981 and I was given Delia Smith’s ‘Complete Cookery Course’ as a present from my sister, a book that I still have in my collection today. After that I was off and running. I use to come home from work and knock up cheesecakes of all descriptions – some using fruit jellies, condensed milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese…I tried hundreds of combinations, not all of them a success I have to say! By the mid 80s I’d moved jobs and I started travelling the world. In every new country that I visited, I would seek out different cheesecakes to try. My love of cheesecake was becoming an obsession!

What is it about cheesecake? For me it’s the most versatile of desserts – there appear to be no limits to new flavour combinations to experiment with. The creamy cheese filling can be tart and citrusy, or sweet and fruity, whilst the base can be any biscuity flavour that takes your fancy. If pushed to choose, I’d have to say that a simple raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake is my favourite! However I thought I would share one of our best selling recipes with you….

Butterscotch Pavlova Cheesecake Recipe

Base:
300g​Crushed ginger biscuits
100g​Melted butter

Cheesecake:
500g​Full fat cream cheese
500g​Fresh cream
100g​Butterscotch ganache – from recipe​
100g ​Caster sugar
9g ​Gelatine (4 leaves)

Topping:
250g ​Meringue pieces
100g​Butterscotch ganache

Butterscotch Ganache:
360 g Fresh cream
375g Toffee chocolate drops
36g Butter

Method:

• Heat cream and chocolate drops in microwave till melted
• Add butter and stir till melted and set aside to cool.

Cheesecake Base:
• Melt 100g margarine in microwave
• Add biscuit crumb and mix well
• Turn into 20cm spring form cake pan which has been lined with grease proof paper. Press down firmly with pallet knife. Put in freezer to set.

Cheesecake Filling:
• Mix cream and sugar in electric mixer till firm
• Put gelatine in bowl cover with cold water set aside
• Next add cream cheese to bowl and mix well
• Warm 245ml cream in microwave
• Squeeze water from gelatine add to cream mix well (Make sure gelatine has dissolved)
• Add to cheese mixture ensuring mixer is working while you pour in melted gelatine beat well until blended
• Add 100g of butterscotch ganache
• Fold through the mixture do not beat you should have a ripple effect
• Pour over cheesecake base
• Smooth top with pallet knife
• Place in fridge to set for 2 hrs

Topping:
• When set cover with butterscotch ganache which has been re-heated to a warm temperature in microwave. Pile chunky pieces of meringue on top and drizzle with
butterscotch ganache.

About The Handmade Cheesecake Company

The Handmade Cheesecake Company is a family-run business based in Ayr, and one of the only speciality cheesecake companies in the UK to make everything by hand. Founded in 2011 by sisters Frances Barron and Ellen McPherson – the pair are passionate about cheesecake and very keen to re-establish it as one of the nation’s best puddings.

Whole cheesecakes cost between £14-£17 and come in 14 creative flavours including Turkish Delight, Limoncello and Rhubarb & Orange. As well as standard sizes they produce mini versions: Wee Yins (individual portions – 9 for £20) and Teeny Wee Yins (canapé-sized – 30 for £20). They also create spectacular wedding cakes from mini cheesecakes and large 3-4 tiers cheesecakes. Frances and Ellen already have a decade of experience to draw from with their sister company The Dessert Depot (Great Taste Award winner in 2007) which sells wholesale to places such as Dobbies, The National Trust and smaller businesses like butchers and delis and coffee shops.

This year they’ll be showing off their wares at the BBC Good Food Show in Glasgow from the 19-21 October where they’ll launch 2 limited edition cheesecakes for the holiday season: a mint and cranberry and white chocolate cheesecake.

For more info visit: www.handmadecheesecakes.co.uk or follow them on Twitter here.

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Upcoming Competition: Win £25 Off Handmade CheeseCakes!

We’ll be launching an exclusive competition tomorrow, so keep your eyes out!

Photo credit: Handmadecheesecakes.co.uk

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