ANITA TASKER shares an easy recipe for baked cheesecake.

THIS is a delicious baked cheesecake recipe that freezes and is quick to make. You will need an eight-inch springform tin and a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Ingredients:

250g cream cheese

100g egg (please weigh because eggs vary in weight; doesn’t matter if a little over)

75g castor sugar

50g fine semolina

100g double cream

Flavouring:

Add any flavour you like ( ie: 2 large tablespoons black cherry jam/raspberry jam or any nice jam with a strong flavour. Or fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries – put in a good handful of these so each slice gets a good helping of fruit)

For the base:

Half a packet of digestive biscuits and half packet of ginger nuts (or a whole packet of one of these!)

150g unsalted butter

Method:

- Place your tin on top of your greaseproof and draw a line around it, cut this circle out, butter the base of your tin and place this paper on top of buttered base.

- Crush biscuits in a bag or whiz up in your food processor to fine crumbs. l Melt the butter until liquid, do not burn, and add the biscuit crumb.

- When all mixed together, press it on to the base of your tin. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

- Put all ingredients (except your jam or fruit flavourings) into a bowl and beat until smooth.

- Pour your cheesecake mixture on to your biscuit base, filling your tin to roughly ¾ up the sides.

- Swirl in your jam or fruit; push the fruit into the mixture with a wooden spoon, being careful not to disturb the base.

- Stand your tin on a flat baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated oven at roughly low to medium heat (160C). It will take approx. 50-60 minutes to bake. If you have a fan oven, check your cheesecake after 30 minutes and adjust heat.

- It will rise a little then brown slightly, don’t let it get too brown, just turn down your oven if this happens and bake it a little longer. Do not worry if a little butter oozes out of the base and runs on to your baking tray.

It is cooked when it is firm around the edges with a slight wobble in the middle but feels firm to the touch, not gooey. l Leave to cool overnight before you cut into this. When cool please store in the fridge. Your cheesecake will firm up overnight in the fridge and you can now either freeze it or enjoy it!

- Cut with a hot, wet knife wiping the blade after each cut to get nice clean slices.

Anita Tasker runs Pattacakes, the teashop, bakery and patisserie at Welburn near Castle Howard