When it comes to sweets and desserts, cheesecakes have special place in my top ten list. Yeah, I do love them, be it frozen, baked, New York style or anything else involving cheese. So this time here’s a recipe for a cheesecake which is super easy, but tasty as anything. It’s the Philadelphia cheese that makes it so different.

So, for a 26 cm (~10″) springform pan we will need:

• 250 g butternut snap cookies (was surprised to know these are considered to be an Australian invention! 🙂 )
• 50 g melted butter
• 500 g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 250 g mascarpone cheese
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 eggs, separated
• 150 g caster sugar

To make the base put the cookies and the butter go into the food processor bowl and process them until crumbly. Then line the springform pan with baking parchment and lay the crumble on top, level and press tightly to form a solid base. Once done, pop the pan into the freezer for 30 minutes or so, to make sure the base is really nice and solid.

For the filling start with beating the egg whites with caster sugar to hard peaks. Then, in a separate bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, mascarpone, cornflour and egg yolks and beat until well blended and unified. Gently fold in the egg whites and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 160C without a fan. Pour the filling on the base, level it and bake for 60 minutes. Once time’s up, turn the oven off but do not take the cake out – let it cool in the turned off oven. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

You can decorate the cake anyhow you like – fruits, berries, glazes, even a custard… But I simply took chocolate and salty caramel syrup – and here’s the result!

Enjoy!