Creative Cheesecake Competition {WINNER}

WOW! Thank you to all the Pick n Pay & KoekiesEnCream Creative Cheesecake Competition entrants! We have a WINNER!

CAITLIN FENTON

Congratulation! Your R500 Pick n Pay gift voucher is on its way! Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you one of the most delicious cheesecake recipes that I have ever laid my eyes on...

Caitlin's Blue Cheese, Walnut & Fig Cheesecake Tart! {See Caitlin's story & recipe below}



{Caitlin's Story}

"So… my name is Caitlin, I’m 26 and you've guessed it already I.LOVE.COOKING and with that comes BAKING! I am a firm believer that Camembert is the best thing since sliced bread and I will eat it at any opportunity. Apart from going crazy in the kitchen, I have done Environmental studies through UNISA, and a year of Drama at UCT, done a photography course, I have also worked on many diverse things from au pairing to marketing, volunteering on Environmental projects, adventure sports; I am a field staff member for the WorldTeach South Africa and even a professional puppeteer! But, I have always had a passion the culinary arts in every aspect – it’s definitely in my blood – my mother does catering, my grandparents are masterful cooks, my great grandfather was a chef and my great-great grandfather was a skilled baker. I am the eldest of four girls and our favourite thing to do on weekends is get creative in the kitchen. Finally at the age of 24, I decided to go to chef school for a year and although I have never worked in the industry as a chef, I do bake birthday cakes to order from home. I enjoy following blogs and magazines for new inspiration which is where I stumbled upon KoekiesEnCream and instantly fell in love - what an inspiring competition and such a beautifully presented blog!

Thanks so much for such a wonderful platform and opportunity!"

- Caitlin Fenton -

Now for Caitlin's incredibly mouth-wateringly beautiful recipe!

{Blue Cheese, Walnut & Fig Cheesecake Tarts}

Yeild: 12 X small 10cm tarts/ 1 X 22cm large tart

This is a standard New York style baked cheesecake which I’ve jazzed up with a little Pick n Pay cheese inspiration.  You can add and subtract ingredients to suit your taste… I am a sucker for the blue cheese and fig combo, so why not use Simonsberg Blue cheese infused cream cheese from Pick n Pay to create an interesting, delicious new take on this much-loved amalgamation? And why not complement it with some walnuts? They love blue cheese and figs too!

So, the great thing about this recipe is… you can make little tartlets, one big tartlet or double the mix for one big standard size NY-style cheesecake.

{Sweet Pastry base}

You can either make your own or buy Pick n Pay’s ready-to-use-save-me-some-time sweet or shortcrust pastry.  I make my own and usually double the recipe so I can keep the remainder in the freezer for next time!

{Ingredients}

300g       flour

200g       butter (softened)

100g       caster sugar

1             whole egg

{Method}

Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl.

Add the egg and combine.

Sift the flour into the butter mixture and mix by hand until it comes together.

Be careful not to over-mix or the pastry will become tough.

You can also add ¼ tsp of vanilla seeds or paste for flavour.

Wrap the dough in cling wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 20min – this makes it easier to roll out.

Grease the  22cm loose bottom  flan tin or 10cm tart tins using melted butter or ‘spray and cook’.

Dust the surface area with flour and roll out the pastry 2-4mm thick.

Line the tins with the pastry and rest in the fridge for 20min – this stops the pastry from shrinking.

Take the tins out of the fridge and line them with foil/baking paper and rice/baking beans.

Blind bake the small tart shells at 160C for 10-12min or the big shell for 20min.

{Cheesecake filling}

The great thing about this filling is you can use plain cream cheese and keep it plain or substitute the nuts and cheese for chocolate chips, berries, etc. If you want to do a normal cheesecake, double the mixture and pour it over a prepared crushed biscuit base of tennis biscuits and bake for 10min at 150C then turn it down to 120C and bake for further 60min, then turn the oven off and leave it to cool for 60min so it doesn’t crack.

{Ingredients}

1 (230g) Simonsberg blue flavour cream cheese

1 (230g) plain cream cheese

90g caster sugar

16g flour

40ml milk/cream

4 (200g) whole egg

*100g Pick n Pay blue cheese

*50g Pick n Pay Walnuts

*6 fresh or preserved figs

{Method}

Mix the sugar, sifted flour, and cream cheese until smooth.

Slowly add the cream/milk and eggs until smooth.

Crumble the blue cheese, crush the walnuts and fold them in to the mixture.

You can chop up the figs and add them to the mix, but I prefer to have them fresh on top.

The mixture will be thick if you used a thick cream cheese or runnier if you used cottage cheese instead.

Pour or spoon it into the tart cases and bake at 140C for 20min for the small and 30-40min for the large.

Allow the tarts to cool before removing them for the tins. Decorate with fresh or preserved figs, a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of honey… you decide!

Ingredients available & competition post sponsored by: