Aaaaaand Chefs_battle recipes again in this blog. (Wonder what is Chefs_Battle? Find out in my Instagram) This time the task was to make a classic New York cheesecake but with a little twist and to shoot it in the atmosphere of American 50’s. So don’t be surprised about the shots. Here I am – a happy US housewife right from a postcard.

Oh, America-America! 50’s – is quiet a conflicting era.  The cult of family and home is arguing with loud voices of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. We have a modest and neat housewife on one plate and young and daring pin-up girls on the other. So I tried to reflect this crazy mix in my recipe.

This is an almost classical New York cheesecake flavoured with US national tastes – Coke and popcorn. And as this combination is used for watching movies far too often let’s name this cheesecake “Movie Night”.

Recipe
(for 10″ cake tin, making time 2 hours + 8 hours for chilling)

Coke syrup:
600 ml Coca-Cola simmer on a low heat to 60 ml of medium thick syrup

Crust:
100 g Digestives biscuits
40 g toffee popcorn
1 tbsp sugar
85 g butter (melted)

Pulse biscuits and popcorn in blender to fine crumbs. Mix in sugar and butter. Use the fork to make a uniform mixture. Spread a thin layer in a cake tin and press with your fingers to make the crust even. Bake for 15 minutes at 170°C.

Take from the oven and leave to cool. Meanwhile heat the oven to 250°С and make the cheese mixture.

Cheese:
1200 g Philadelphia cheese
340 g sugar (divide into halves)
a pinch of salt
80 g sour cream
30 ml coke syrup (half of what you cooked)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks
5 whole eggs

On a low speed mix the cream cheese until homogeneous. Add half of sugar and mix for 2 minutes. Add the other half and mix 2 more minutes. Add sour cream, syrup and lemon juice and mix again for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and yolks one by one mixing well after each addition.

Grease the tin carefully: do not touch the crust. Pour in the cheese mixture and bake at 250°С for 10 minutes. Keeping the oven shut lower the heat to 100°C and bake for 1h – 1h 20min. The middle of the cake shouldn’t be too wobbly.

Cover the tin with a towel and leave to cool for 2 hours. Then take the towel away, wrap the tin with cling film and put to set in the fridge. For 6 to 8 hours.

Decorating:
Toffee popcorn
30 ml coke syrup
Candy Melts

Decorate with popcorn, remaining syrup and pieces of candy melts.

Enjoy!