Cheesecake!

*This recipe makes two 7" cakes... In the picture is one, 14" cheesecake. You can use this recipe to make one large cheesecake but if you do, reduce the oven heat by 10 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

First, make the sweet dough because it needs to rest in the fridge. Even better, make it the day before.

Sweet Dough
--> this recipe makes a bit more sweetdough than required for the cheesecake, but you can roll it out and cut out shapes to make cookies with the extra. I made stars to decorate mine...and then some cookies too.

In a bowl, sift together:

250g icing sugar
7.5g baking powder
500g bread flour

Use the tips of your fingers to rub the flour mixture together with:

250g cold butter, cut into cubes

Mix until bread-crumb consistency, then add:

2 eggs

Stir until combined and then on your counter, kneed the dough until smooth. Wrap up tightly in cling film and let rest in your fridge.

Preheat your oven to 350 F/ 176 C

Once the dough has rested - either over night or for at least one hour - tear off half of the dough and warm it up slightly and quickly by massaging it in your hands. Form it into a disk about one inch thick and LIGHTLY dust your work surface, the dough and your rolling pin with flour.

Roll out the dough to about 2 centimeters thick.

Use your spring-form pan bottom to measure the circumference you will need. Cut out the two circles and place at the bottom of your buttered pans. Cut out the scrap pieces to make cookies - try to avoid waste and make some irregular shaped cookies instead of kneading the dough together again ( this is result in some tough cookies)

With the other half, massage and form into a 1-inch tall rectangle. Roll out to form a long 2 centimeter-thick rectangle. Prop the spring-form pan (bottom not attached!) on its side and lightly roll it one full circle down your dough to measure how long and how wide of a piece you will need. Do again for your second spring-form. Cut accordingly, making more little cookies with scraps.

Put the spring-form pans back together and place the dough on the sides, using one finger to smudge out the seam between the dough on the side and on the bottom. Put them in the fridge to rest and chill out while you complete the following steps.

Now you can get the cheesecake started.

Cream together:

600g firm cream cheese
100g sugar
50g corn starch
5g vanilla
juice and zest of 1/4 of a lemon

Slowly stir in:

4 egg yolks ( SAVE the egg whites!)

Whip in a separate bowl:

200g 35% cream

Fold in the whipped cream to the above mixture.

Whip in a separate bowl:

4 egg whites
pinch of cream or tartar ( if you don't have any, then wipe the bowl with a cloth that has been dampened with a bit of white vinegar)

While whipping the egg whites, slowly add:

100g sugar

When the egg whites are forming soft peaks, fold them into the cream cheese mixture.

Pour the tasty mixture (because you have no doubt already poked a finger in the batter) into the dough-lined spring-form pans, place on a tray and into the centre of your oven.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

If you like, you can pour mango puree over the centre of the cheesecake right before serving. That's what I did and it was delicious!