How long do you bake a cheesecake?

Cheesecake is one of the all-time favourite desserts. The classic version is made of cream cheese, eggs and sugar with a hint of vanilla and orange zest. Its creamy taste and trademark fluffy texture make it hard to stop after a single serving.

Moreover, the cheesecake makes a perfect base for culinary experiments as is goes well with a variety of toppings. You can add a twist to the plain, traditional cheesecake with fruit, sultanas, cocoa, coffee, liquor etc. Or maybe you would fancy a banoffee cheesecake for an extra sticky, sweet guilty pleasure?

Whichever of the head-spinning variety of versions you choose, baking time is crucial (unless you wish to prepare a no-bake version; scroll down for a recipe).

Typically, cheesecakes are laid on the base of crushed digestive biscuits mixed with melted butter. To ensure that the base is crunchy, let it sit for 10 minutes in the oven preheated to about 180°C. Allow it to cool before pouring over with cheese mass. Then heat the oven to 190°C/ gas mark 5 and bake the cheesecake for 20-30 minutes, until golden on top. When finished, leave the oven door slightly ajar for 20 minutes, then let the cake cool down in the room temperature for the further 30 minutes and finally in the fridge for 3 hours or, ideally, overnight.

Did you know?

For an extra quick and easy (yet still impressive) dessert, try a no-bake cheesecake. You will need digestive biscuits and melted butter for the base, just as in the classic recipe.

Apart from this, prepare:

- 300 g cream cheese
- 400 ml of double cream
- 130 g icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- optionally: 1 vanilla pod

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.
2. Whip the cream.
3. Mix cream cheese and whipped cream.
4. Pour over biscuit base, chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Enjoy!

And what is your favourite type of a cheesecake?