Let them eat cake: Gowings’ Signature New York Cheesecake

You asked, we heard.

Sydney, it’s been a minute (or a few months) we’ve been missing you here at Gowings. Not long now until we can welcome you back to our fine dining drama, filled with your laughter, popping of bottles, competing with frequency of clinking classes, and of course, whispers whilst late night lounging.

To help you through the home stretch, we’re sending a bit of QT to your 5km radius.

The man behind Gowings’ most popular dessert, Head Chef, Harry Tagg, shares his secret recipe for Sydney’s best Cheesecake, with you.

You don’t get more classic, more bold and brasserie, than a New York baked this cheesecake. A relatively simple dish, with an ingredients list you can recognise, this dessert really is something else. Wonderfully silky and baked low and slow, there’s a reason this baked beauty has remained on the menu for years.  

Chef recommends allowing 24 hours for this recipe, allowing the cake to cool so you can frost to perfection.

Let’s start by taking an 8” inch cake ring, or ring pull cake ring.
If using a ring with no base, line with foil and seal tightly and spray with canola oil.
If using a ring pull tin, gently spray with Canola oil.

Biscuit Base
250g Gingernut Biscuit
100g Melted Butter

Place biscuits into food Processor and blend up until fine crumbs
Gently warm the butter over a low heat, you just want it melted and creamy, Not Separated.
Mix in melted butter to your Crumb. The crumb should just be able to hold itself together, without being greasy. Press the crumb firmly into your cake tin, no thicker than 0.5cm. Set in the fridge for 20 minutes while you prepare your cheese mix.

Cheese Filling
1133g Cream Cheese
335g Caster Sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon
5 Whole Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
30g Plain Flour
80ml Cream

Preheat your oven to 90 degrees C.
Ready a dish with a wire rack inside it.
Place into mixer with paddle the cream cheese + caster sugar + lemon zest and combine, beat until smooth.
Add eggs + egg yolks one at a time until combined.
Sift flour into mix and combine making sure there is no lumps.
Add cream and fold into mixture.
Place mixture into cake tin, place the ring inside your baking dish, sitting on top of the cake rack, the dish with warm water (Baine Marie),

Bake in oven at 90 degrees C for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Once time is up, allow to cool outside at room temperature.
When your cheesecake is cooled, refrigerate for 24 hours.

Vanilla Frosting
700ml Cream
100g Sugar
6 sheets Gelatine
2 Vanilla Beans

Warm the cream + vanilla slowly to 80 degrees C.
Dissolve the sugar in the mixture, then the bloomed gelatine.
Let the liquid set then paddle mix before use.
Apply thin layer, or thick if your sweet tooth desires, on top of your New York cheesecake.

Then you know what to you do. Slice, serve, revel in the fluff, the cream and sweet, sweet taste of Gowings.

See how you compare to the real deal from Tuesday 12th October.