I wanted to make individual cheesecakes, originally a twist on my Baked Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, but gluten free. As I continued to mull over the recipe it eventually evolved in a few ways. I found my original oat base to be too buttery and so had to tweak it. I was debating about making a custard and mixing it into the cheesecake mixture versus layering it, as I had in my original. Slightly encouraged by aesthetics and the separation of flavours, I opted to go for layers. I will always flavour a custard with tea when I can, especially as someone who drinks so much of it lately (tea, not custard as I'm not Vanessa). My final bit of wondering then came from recipe ideas for my new ice cream fixation/project. One flavour I want to make is inspired by toast, tea, and jam, and so thought it would be nice to have a thin layer of fruit jam between the oat base and custard layers. I have also written up the base as a separate biscuit recipe for those who want to whip some up fairly quickly and effortlessly.
Serves The Golden Girls or 12-16
Hands-on Time 30 minutes
Cooking Time 10 minutes
Baking Time 90 minutes
Ingredients
450ml Full-fat milk
2-3 tsp Loose-leaf tea, or 2-3 Teabags
4 Eggs, medium
2 Egg yolks, medium
60g Soft light brown sugar
200g Caster sugar
100g Cornflour
1/4 tsp Fine salt
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 1/2 vanilla pods)
90g Unsalted butter (cold, diced)
90g Porridge oats (gluten-free)
1/2 tsp Baking powder
400g Cream cheese (room temperature)
130ml Sour cream
4 tbsp Raspberry/Strawberry Jam (seedless)
Equipment
Large saucepan
2 Large bowls
Hand whisk (silicone if possible)
Fine sieve
Jug
Spatula
20cm Square loose-bottom tin
Baking parchment
Food processor
Microwaveable bowl
Microwave
Electric whisk
In a saucepan heat 430 millilitres of milk until it starts to simmer and steam.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea. If you want a subtle taste, I would add only 2 teaspoons of tea or 2 tea bags. Add more if you prefer a stronger brew. Leave to sit and stew for 15 minutes
Whilst the tea brews, whisk together 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks, 30 grams of light brown sugar and 100 grams of caster sugar, 50 grams of cornflour, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl until thick and foamy.
Strain the tea-milk over a jug through a fine sieve. Press down the tea to remove as much milk as possible, you are aiming for approx. 400 millilitres of milk, top up with cold milk if you are falling short. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract (or the seeds from 1 pod). Pour over the egg mixture, stirring to ensure you don’t end up with any lumps. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a medium-high heat.
Stir the mixture using the spatula and scrap down the sides of the pan until the mixture thickens.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the custard into a clean bowl.
Add 20 grams of butter and stir until combined and you have a thick wobbly custard. It’s not the end of there world if it’s not completely smooth. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C(Fan)/325°F/Gas mark 3.
Line the cake tin with a large piece of baking parchment which comes up to the top of the sides.
Add the oats, 20 grams of cornflour, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, baking powder, and 30 grams of light brown sugar to a food processor bowl and blitz for 30 seconds until a fine powder.
Add 55 grams of butter and blitz until there are no visible lumps of butter.
Finally, add 20 millilitres of milk and blitz one last time, you should now have a workable dough.
Tip the mixture into the lined tin and press down until level. I find it’s best to press down using my hands.
Pop the tin into the oven on a middle shelf for 15 minutes.
When the time has passed remove the tin from the oven and set aside until it’s cool to the touch.
Now to get on with making a filling.
Pop the remaining 15 grams of butter into a microwaveable bowl and blast in the microwave for 10 seconds. Repeat (if required) until it has softened but not melted.
Add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl along with the softened butter and whisk on a medium-high speed for up to 5 minutes until you have a lightly whipped mixture.
Add 100 grams of caster sugar, and 30 grams cornflour to the mixture and whisk until combined.
Add the remaining 2 whole eggs to the mixture and again give a quick whisk.
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or the seeds from 1/2 a pod) and the sour cream and give a final whisk.
Give the jam a stir and spread it over the cooled biscuit base.
Give the cooled custard a stir to loosen it up and dollop it on top of the jam covered base. Use a spatula to level it out.
Carefully pour the cheesecake mixture over the top of the custard. Give the tin a gentle shake to level the cheesecake mixture.
Place the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 75 minutes.
When the time has passed, remove the tin from the oven, and set aside until fully cooled.
The top of the cheesecake will sink as it cools. Once cooled pop the tin into the fridge for at least an hour, better yet if you leave it overnight.
Slide the cheesecake out of the tin before cutting it up into portions. If you want really clean and crisp cuts, you need to ensure you have a hot knife, you can do this by placing it in boiling water for a minute and drying before cutting.
Enjoy!
