Something a little different this weekend, sweet rather then savoury. This is an old recipe which I found in a great book “The Man Who Ate Everything” by Jeffrey Steingarten. The book has some of the best witting on food bar none by a non-professional. I’ve been using the recipe for ten years and have yet to taste better or improve on it. Baking is not an area to divert from the recipe or to try and cut corners, so I’ll detail the full recipe for a change and urge you to stick to it to get the best results.

Ingredients

200g digestive biscuits

1.5tbs melted butter

320g caster sugar

1kg cream cheese (Phily or good alternative)

2tbs plain flour

4 large eggs

250ml sour cream

pinch salt

4cm Vanilla pod very finely chopped.

Pre-heat your oven at 165degC.

Line a 25cm spring form tin.

Crush the biscuits and add 40grams of the sugar before mixing in the melted butter, cover the base of the tin running a little up the sides.

Cream the sugar and cream cheese well.

Add flour and a pinch of salt, mix in.

Split the eggs a beat the yolks before adding to the cream cheese mix, mix.

Add sour cream then beat mix till smoothly combined.

Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites careful to retain air.

Gently pour into tin.

Bake in preheated oven for an hour, turn if it browns to much on one side.

After an hour turn oven off and leave in for an other hour. It will still be wobbly at this point, the hour in the oven switched off will set it, don’t keep opening oven to check though as you will loose the heat. The extra hour should prevent it from cracking too much as well.

Allow to chill fully once out the oven as it will be soft. Use a nice hot knife (dipped in hot water) to slice. Nice on it’s own or with some fresh Raspberries.