With the Jewish festival of Shavuot around the corner, we wanted to share a delicious recipe from Chef Yanir Mrejen for an easy, creamy Cheesecake recipe that’s traditionally enjoyed on the holiday. Shavuot, which celebrates God’s giving of the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, is also known as a ‘dairy’ holiday where cheesecake has a big feature, but why did this tradition begin?
Shavuot Cheesecake Recipe by Yanir Mrejen:
A tip from Yanir: “If strapped for time, an easier way to make this base is to use 250g of your favourite digestive biscuits and combine with 100g of melted butter. Mix together to form an even mixture and lightly press down in the pan to form the base. Bake until golden brown.” Chef Yanir Mrejen
Ingredients:
For the base:
150g plain flour
75g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
For the filling:
500ml of double cream
1 Tsp of vanilla syrup
120g of Icing sugar (Split into two 60g portions*)
Zest from 1 lemon
500g Low fat cream cheese
400g Full fat cream cheese
Method:
Place a piece of parchment paper over the bottom of a 12-inch springform pan, then seal the springform pan edge around the base. Grease the inner sides of the springform pan with butter or cooking spray.
In a bowl, rub together the butter and flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Mix in the icing sugar with a pinch of salt, then the egg yolk. If the pastry feels too dry to form a dough, add 1 tbsp water.
Shape the dough into a ball and flatten out into a disc, then wrap in cling film to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using. During this time, preheat the oven to 170c.
Bake the base until golden brown, around 20 minutes. Leave to cool slightly as you make the filling.
Once the base is out the oven, make the filling by mixing together the double cream, vanilla syrup, *half of the icing sugar and lemon zest.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cream cheeses and the other half of the icing sugar.
With a large spoon, combine the two mixtures together until it forms a smooth and creamy filling.
Fill the now cooled pastry (or biscuit) base with the creamy cheesecake filling, and leave in the fridge to set overnight.
Once set you can go add any topping you like, from fresh fruit and compote topping to biscuits crumbs or chocolate syrup… Enjoy!