Flavours of the Karoo and New York – try this cheesecake recipe from Recipes to Live For: A Tannie Maria Cookbook
More about the book!

Penguin Random House SA has shared an excerpt from Recipes to Live For: A Tannie Maria Cookbook by Sally Andrew!

Tannie Maria, everyone’s favourite amateur detective and agony aunt, has finally heeded the call of her fans countrywide to produce her very first cookbook. Recipes to Live For features recipes from Sally Andrews’ first four murder mystery novels, as well as some tantalising new additions.

Many of the dishes are slow foods and traditional South African recipes, but there are also quick meals and new inventions, from nachos to spekboom ice cream. Whether you are craving a Karoo lamb pie or a vetkoek with mince, or are lus for a melktert or koeksister, you will find it among Tannie Maria’s gastronomic delights.

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Candy’s Cheesecake

by Tannie Maria

This recipe has flavours of the Karoo and New York. For an extra-fancy cake, garnish with brandied muscadels (muscadel raisins simmered in a little brandy, water, honey and sugar).

This is the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. Candy is my fashion-designer friend from New York. We met when her cousin Martine was murdered. Ag, shame.

Ingredients

Crust

200 g Brazil nuts
75 g digestive biscuits
100 g desiccated coconut
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 T castor sugar
150 g butter, melted

Cake

750 g plain cream cheese, softened
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
¼ cup lemon juice
¾ cup (180 g) sour cream

Sour-cream topping

1 cup (240 g) sour cream
2 T castor sugar
2 t lemon juice
finely grated orange zest or orange wedges for garnishing

Use a pestle and mortar or a food processor to crush the Brazil nuts (I like them a little crunchy). Use a rolling pin to crush the digestive biscuits, and add these to the nuts, along with the coconut, orange zest and castor sugar. Add the melted butter and mix well.

Grease a 24cm springform cake tin. Press the crust mixture lightly onto the base and sides of the tin. You want a thin crust on the base (5–7 mm) and it doesn’t matter if the crust doesn’t go all the way up the sides of the tin or is uneven in height. Put in the fridge for half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC.

To make the cake, blend the cream cheese, orange zest, lemon zest and castor sugar in a large bowl, then add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add the lemon juice and sour cream.

Pour the mixture into the cooled crust. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes.

Make the sour-cream topping by mixing the sour cream, castor sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. Spread over the cheesecake and bake for a further 20 minutes or until set.

Leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door ajar. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with finely grated orange zest or orange wedges.