I’ve been making this version of baked vanilla cheesecake since way back in 2004! It’s a Gordon Ramsay recipe that I tore out of a weekend newspaper magazine supplement. Luckily, all these years, the page has been protected inside a plastic punched pocket (that’s the proper word for one of those things, apparently!) otherwise it would have disintegrated by now from all the use it’s seen.
It’s a dessert that I go back to again & again. It’s really easy to make and is simply delicious – especially after it’s had a few hours to cool down. The consistency is light and melt-in-the-mouth; so much better than those recipes that use gelatine – which I don’t eat as I’m vegetarian.
It’s great served with a ginger or summer fruit compote. We had some with a lovely blueberry compote made from frozen blueberries (much cheaper than the fresh ones, and you can get them year-round). Of all the Cakes & Bakes I’ve made over the years, this has long been Justin’s favourite!
Gordon Ramsay's vanilla cheesecake
Ingredients
For the biscuit base
- 100 g unsalted butter plus a little to grease the tin
- 200 g digestive biscuits I sometimes use ginger nuts with about half the above quantity of butter
- 50 g caster sugar Again, I use half this amount if using ginger nuts
For the filling
- 500 g cream cheese I've used both Philadelphia and mascarpone successfully at room temperature
- 200 g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 300ml soured cream
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin
- Melt the butter gently in a small pan on a low heat. Roughly break up the biscuits and and place them in a food processor. Process the biscuits for 2-3 minutes until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar, then pour in the melted butter and process for 30 seconds to combine
- Put the biscuit mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface evenly. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes
- Rinse out the processor bowl. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and process for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cornflour, sour cream and vanilla essence and process for 30 seconds to combine
- Pour the filling into the tin and bake in a low oven at 150°C for 1 hour. When cooked, the cheesecake should be well-risen, with a golden brown top. It should feel slightly firm to the touch - if the mixture still appears wet, continue to bake a little longer. When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door ajar. When completely cool, place in the fridge. Serve with summer berries and pouring cream
Click here or on the image below to pin the recipe for later!
I love cheesecake, that looks more then wonderful
enjoy and I wish I could join
I want to give this a whirl this week for some friends coming for dinner (I'm hoping to get hold of sour cream today – not widely sold in Italy!). It is the easiest method for a baked cheesecake I've found online and your photo makes it look delicious.
Just one question – when left to cool in the oven should the door be fully open or just ajar? Sorry if it sounds picky but I just want to make sure I get it right 😉
Hi Sarah,
Leave the oven door ajar – so that the temperature drops gradually. You could try creme fraiche if you can't get hold of the sour cream!
Good luck – it's delicious!!!
Re. Soured cream – add some lemon juice to normal cream, wait 5 mins for it to sour. Google for exact proportions.
Hello Adelle and Justin,
Thank you for the reply and advice re the door. I managed to get sour cream (what a discovery at the large supermarket!)
Sarah
Let us know how you get on!
Adelle x
Do you have to add the corn flour?
My mother is allergic to it.
I've never tried it without the cornflour. Perhaps you could try arrowroot instead.
The cheesecake took nearly two hours to bake and the top wasn't a golden colour like in the picture. I followed the recipe exactly as it is, using cornflour. Did I do something wrong? It tasted good, but it had a large crack on the top.
Hi Sunny,
I've cooked it in two different ovens and I've also found a discrepancy in baking times. I think things like whether you have a fan-assisted oven and which shelf you put it on can affect the time it takes – I try to put it in the middle of the oven.
I've sometimes had a crack appear too – I think this can be caused by the oven being too hot
Next time, try putting a tray of water on the bottom shelf or put the cake tin in a bain marie.
Hiya, it says 300g of Soured cream but it's measured in mls… do you mean 330mls?
Thanks
Hi Laura – I use one, medium-sized (300ml) tub of sour cream
I thought as much but as you can see I was reading it at 11pm. Not the best judge at that time of night. Went with mls and it was amazing. Thank you so much x
Great stuff – that recipe makes the tastiest cheesecake I've ever tasted! 😉
Is there any way that the egg can be substituted. If so, with what?
Hi Chrisna,
You can buy egg substitute such as this one in large supermarkets and health food stores.
Well this recipe has been a great party piece it won me desert of the night. Making me blush with pride. Although I did attribute it to Gordon R.
Bravo Amanda! It's my best dinner party dessert too 🙂
I just tried this recipe and I’m having a slice of the cake after having it cool down but it is not chilled yet. The cake tastes very eggy and the texture is very custard like instead of light and fluffy. Help?
Hi Faith,
It tastes quite different the day after once it’s been refrigerated. Did you use an electric mixer or did you do it by hand? An electric mixer tends to get more air into it and make it lighter.
I made this last year, making it again now, this is the best recipe for baked cheesecake
It is – of all the cakes I make, this is everyone’s favourite!
love this c/cake it’s a new family fav!!!
I made this the other day. It came out really nice, but next time I’ll change the biscuit base. It didn’t seem right to me. Great base recipe though.
Hi
I have a 30 cm (i think, its big) springform cake tin. Can I just double the recipe?
thanks
Hi,
I’ve just calculated the volume of a 20cm cylinder versus the volume of a 30cm cylinder and it’s a little over double so it should work! 🙂
I just finished making it and it came out perfect… I have tried few cheese cake recipes before and so far this is the best…
Hi,
Do you know if I can make and freeze this?
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy,
To be honest, I’ve never tried to freeze it so I don’t know how it would affect the texture!
I am going to have to give this a go! I’m a vegetarian too so this is the perfect recipe for me a cheesecake addict.