Vanilla cheesecake

Method

For the biscuit base in a food processor blitz the speculaas biscuits to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Mix the melted butter through the crumbs. Line the base of a round 24 cm springform cake tin with silicone paper. Press the biscuit crumb mix over the bottom and up the side of the tin, right up to the lip. Square the top off nicely. The crumb base should be an even 8 mm thick. Refrigerate to set. For the cheesecake batter, place the cream cheese in an electric stand mixer, along with the lemon zest, juice, scraped vanilla seeds and sugar, and start to mix on slow speed. With the machine running, add the eggs one at a time. Then, still on slow speed, add the cream and flour. Increase the speed and mix thoroughly for 4 minutes, stopping to scrape the bottom and the sides, making sure everything is evenly combined. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the cake tin on a baking tray (as the batter will leach out during cooking), then pour the batter onto the biscuit crumb base in the tin. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. When ready, the cheesecake should jiggle in the middle and be starting to rise on the sides. The key to a great cheesecake is to not overcook it. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool, then transfer to the refrigerator to set. Once chilled and set, the cake is ready to eat.