happy 2014 and a plum crumble cheesecake

happy 2014 and a plum crumble cheesecake

• 6 Jan 2014

Well hello every-one and Happy New Year. It was lovely having a break but boy, did those 2 weeks fly past. In that time I've driven to Brisbane and back; done lots of baking and lots of eating; spent New Year's Eve on the beach at Manly; done a bit of shopping at the sales and I've been hard at work putting together a travel album from my trip to Tasmania.



Just before my Christmas break, I put together this cheesecake for a work mate's 50th birthday celebration. 



I literally threw this together one Sunday and as it was for a birthday, I couldn't cut a sneaky slice to photograph. I did manage to snaffle a sliver to try though.



There's something magical about the combination of tart plums, the smooth texture of the cheesecake filling and the surprise crunch of the walnuts in the crumble topping.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 16cm cake. To make a 23 cm cake you'll need to double all ingredients. The cooking time stays the same.
Base
2 tbl caster sugar
¼ cup pecans or walnuts
½ cup Plain Flour
60 gm (2 oz) unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

Crumble Topping
Additional ¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C/350⁰F. Grease and line the base and sides of a 16 cm spring-form tin with baking paper.

In a food processor, combine the sugar and the nuts and whiz until the nuts are finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and process until combined and a soft dough forms around the blade. Press about ⅔ of the mixture into the base of the prepared spring-form tin, bringing it slightly up the sides. 

Combine the remaining shortbread with the coarsely chopped walnuts to make a crumble topping and place in the fridge.

Bake the shortbread base in the preheated 180⁰C oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Set to one side and allow the base to cool.

Topping
4 ripe plums
1 tbs caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon

Increase the oven temperature to 200⁰C/400⁰F. Halve the plums, remove the seeds and slice thinly. Place the sliced plums into a small bowl. Sprinkle the plums with 1 tbs caster sugar and ½ tsp cinnamon. Set to one side.

Filling
1 x 250 gm (8 oz) packet of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
Scant ¼ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tbl yoghurt or cream

Put the remaining ingredients into the food processor and whiz until smooth. Pour the filling over the cooked base and then layer the plums over the filling. Scatter the crumble topping over the plums. 

Bake the cheesecake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 170⁰C/325⁰F. Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes or until the filling is almost set. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the turned off oven. Remove the cake from the oven after another hour. When cool, the cheesecake can be stored in the fridge.



I hope you enjoy the recipe.

See you all again next week,

Jillian