Baked vanilla cheesecake with chestnut biscuit base

Having attempted pie/cake bases with almond flour and coconut flour, I decided to experiment with chestnut flour to make a base for a cheesecake.

I bought a bag (500g) of ground chestnut flour at Fallon & Byrne a while ago thinking that it would make for a good wheat-free substitute. I didn't realise that chestnut flour was high in carbohydrate content, making it an unacceptable safe flour according to Dr Davis of Wheat Belly fame. But I hate wasting food, so after a couple of months of letting the bag sit in the cupboard, I went ahead. Because of the use of chestnut flour, this cheesecake is strictly an occasional treat.

Baked vanilla cheesecake with chestnut biscuit base

Ingredients for the biscuit base

2½ chestnut flour, sifted
210 g Kerrygold butter, cubed & softened
2⅓ tbsp Muscovado sugar
1 extra large free-range egg, room temp

Method

1. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar.
2. Mix in the flour in batches and use a spatula to combine thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg.
4. Pour the egg into the flour mix. Use a spatula to combine thoroughly and a soft dough starts to form.
5. Using your hands, form the mixture into a ball of dough.
   
6. Lightly grease a 9" springform/silicon pan.
7. Pat the dough into the pan. Press down firmly (with hand or pan turner) until the dough is evenly covering the bottom and pressed firmly into the pan.
8. Chill the pan in the fridge for 45 minutes or the freeze for 15 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
10. Stab the base crust with a fork (otherwise the crust will rise when baking).
11. Bake the base crust for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
    
12. Let the crust cool and then put it in the freeze for 30 minutes. The base has to be completely cool before pouring in the filling.

Ingredients for the filling

560g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temp

1 C organic sour cream, room temp

4 extra large free-range eggs, room temp

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1½ tbsp coconut sugar

¼ C organic honey

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and sour cream, and, using an electric mixer, pulse a few times to start to mix them together.
3. Add the sugar, honey, and vanilla, and whisk for 1 minute until thoroughly combined and smooth (make sure there are no lumps!).
4. Add the eggs one at a time to the cheese mix and whisk to combine thoroughly till smooth. Make sure the eggs are beaten well so they don't separate during baking. Once the eggs are mixed in, mix the batter as little as possible.
5. Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
   
6. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath to ensure even cooking. A water bath prevents the outside of the cake from burning while cooking the inside. It also prevents the cake from cracking (for which the cheesecake is notorious). (If using a springform pan, to prepare a water bath for the cheesecake, cover the outside of the springform pan with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil. It keeps the water out of the pan.) Find a casserole dish or baking tray that fits the pan in it. Put the pan in the dish/tray and fill the dish/tray with about 2" of hot water.
7. Very carefully put the cheesecake in the oven for 60-70 minutes, turning the tray halfway through, until the cheesecake reaches a golden colour. The cake will rise slightly to a dome shape. It will deflate as it cools.
   
8. Turn the oven off and let the cake sit in the oven for 60 minutes. When the cake is done, it won't move when you jiggle the pan.
   
9. Take the cake out of the oven with great caution as the water bath may still be hot. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and let it cool slowly on the counter.
   
10. Once it's cooled, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before removing it from the pan.
    
11. Let it return to room temp before serving. Top with fruits if desired.
12. Either keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to a month.
    

Cheesecake topped with passion fruit

All in, I'm happy with the cake, particularly the flavour and the appearance. Last time I made a cheesecake, I observed that it wasn't cheesy enough, so this time, I increased the amount of cream cheese by 25%. And sure enough, the result was a cake heavy on the cheese yet light in texture with added height.

Another experiment was with the base. Having not worked with chestnut flour before, I didn't know how to gauge the amount, so I adapted a pie recipe and ended up with a rather large ball of dough. When I pressed the dough into the pan, I knew it was going to be too thick. I should have rolled up the dough back into a ball and halve it for the biscuit base, but I didn't really think of it (and also wasn't altogether certain how thick it would be), so I went ahead. Chestnut flour has a subtle flavour and produced quite a dense biscuit base. It went well with the cream cheese filling, so other than being too thick, it worked. Next time I will halve the recipe and see if a thin enough base is produced.