The Classics: Baked Cheesecake

I was grumpy yesterday morning.
Because I had to travel to Bandra. In.the.pouring.rain.!!
I'm running around (read: postponing packing as much as I can) move soon and yesterday hanging out with three very close girlfriends, chatting over thai pot rice and a very big wedge of chocolate mousse cake I realised that maybe rainy afternoons are'nt all that bad..
And how girlfriends are so under rated!!!
(ermmm....I don't mean this if you are a boy :p )
I mean,imagine if you had to hang out with  boys ALL the time.
Would they be willing to discuss which stall at hill road has the best deals for flats ?
Would they be able to tell you which kajal ACTUALLY does not smudge?
Would they be able to save you from the frizzy hair days that make you look like you got struck by lightning?
Would they not judge you if you wore purple pants???
Would they?
I did'nt think so.

My closest girlfriends have saved my sanity.A million times over.
Thank You.
:)

Anyway...I have some news.....
So I randomly was going through the overview section of the blog yesterday and apparently it's crossed 11,000 views!!!
Whoop !!Whoop!!!
 So I decided to share a classic that I uaually end up making at family celebrations ,or christmas or just when a craving strikes....Baked Cheesecake.

I'm not a big fan of cold set cheesecake...You know, the ones that use hung curd and gelatin and whatnot and then you just let them set in the fridge. Actually I think thats just a plain ol' insult to the amazing dense baked cheesecake.
I mean c'mon ...its cheesecake....DO IT RIGHT!!!!


Baked Cheesecake Cupcakes:
Adapted from BBC GoodFood Issue 1

For the crust
digestive biscuits 180gms
butter 100-150gms
powdered sugar 2tbsp(or as per your taste)
vanilla ess 1/2tsp

•  Powder the digestive biscuits.Melt the butter and mix all the ingredients for the crust together.It should resemble the consistency of wet sand.A good way to test if you've got the right consistency is to squeeze a portion of it tightly in your hand, it should hold together for a few seconds and not crumble apart immediately.
• Press this evenly into the base of silicon cupcake moulds. (You can also make a full sized cheesecake instead of these mini ones)
• Grease the base of the cake tin first if you are'nt using silicon.

For the cheesecake:

 Cream cheese 600gms
 Powdered sugar 200gms
 Eggs                   3

 Fresh cream        200gms
Vanilla essence     a tsp

• Preheat the oven to 180'C. And heat some water upto boiling point.Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat well till smooth.
• Add oin the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl from time to time so u dnt get lumps at the end.
• Add in vanilla ess and cream and beat well till blended.
• Pour over the crust and tap the mould on the table once to get rid of any air bubbles
• Place the mould into a waterbath with wateralmost upto halfway upto the sides of the cheesecake tin
• Cover with tin foil and Bake at 180'C for about 12 min.The cakes should still have a bit of a jiggle in the center.
• |Turn of the oven and let it rest in the oven for abt 40 min
• Chill the cheesecakes overnight. (if I'm in a hurry I allow them to set in the freezer for a few hours instead)
• Serve topped with fresh fruit...mango/strawberry/or any berry syrup or preserve work well!!!