Lemon olive oil cheesecake

I arrived late to the cheesecake fan club party. Not fashionably late, but late late, sneaking quietly in to avoid being noticed, only to loudly declare my undying love of cheesecake to anyone in my vicinity.

There really is no enthusiast quite like a born again believer. And while I love the purist cheesecakes in all their tangy, mild cheesiness, this olive oil cheesecake has become my go to. The olive oil not only makes the cheesecake creamier, it adds a lovely mild, fruity flavour that doesn’t overpower the flavour of the cheese. I have made variations of the olive oil cheesecake with dehydrated, ground fig leaves, rose- or orange blossom water, various, citrus fruits (bergamot is wonderful), honey and bay leaf… It is as beautiful canvas for more flavour as it is lovely all on its own.

The version I am sharing today is made with lemon olive oil, (fig) balsamic vinegar and hibiscus roasted figs. Depending on season you can swap out the figs for whatever tickles your fancy… I love this particular cheesecake with lemon verbena poached pears or a warm blueberry compote with rosewater. But really, as with most good cakes, the possibilities are endless.

Lemon olive oil cheesecake

Makes 1 20cm cheesecake

Crust

200g crushed graham crackers or digestive biscuits
75g melted, cooled butter
0,5 tsp. salt
0,5 tsp. toasted coriander seeds, cooled and ground to a fine powder

Cheesecake

600g cream cheese, preferably Philadelphia brand, at room temperature
100g sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
100g creme fraiche or sour cream, at room temperature
60ml lemon olive oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 175C fan. Grease a 20cm springform pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and the sides with a strip of parchment.

Mix the crushed biscuits with coriander, salt and butter and gently press into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown and fragrant, set aside to cool completely.

Wrap the springform tightly with several layers of tin foil and lower the temperature to 125C fan.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth and homogenous, 3-5 minutes. Add eggs and yolks one at a time on low speed, scraping the sides after each addition. You want to just combine the cheese mixture, not aerate it too much.

Add creme fraiche, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and beat on low speed until combined. Pour the cheesecake filling through a fine meshed sieve over the cooled crust and smooth the surface with an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon.

Transfer the springform to a 33 x 23cm baking pan and carefully fill with hot water until it comes half way up the sides of the cake pan.

Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, until the middle 1/3 of the cheesecake is still wobbly when gently shaken.

Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool with the door ajar for 10 minutes before removing the baking pan from the oven. Leave the cheesecake to cool to room temperature in the water bath, about an hour. Remove the cake pan from the water, peel off the tin foil and wrap the springform in clingfilm.

Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight to fully set.

Hibiscus roasted figs

12 fresh figs, sliced in half lengthwise
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. dried hibiscus
1 slice of lemon
40g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C fan.

Toss the figs with hibiscus, balsamic vinegar, lemon and sugar and place snugly in a single layer in a 33 x 22cm baking pan.

Cover with tin foil and roast the figs for 15 minutes, remove the foil and roast another 5 minutes until the figs are soft and the syrup is thickened.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the figs cool. Quarter the figs and arrange on top of the whole cheesecake or individual slices.

The figs are lovely served warm over the cool cheesecake.