Savoury Cheesecake with Brie & Cranberry Wensleydale, Garlic & Herb Goats Cheese & Caramelised Fig Molasses Onions Topping
A cheese lovers dream, make this savoury cheesecake ahead of time, up to a couple of days in fact!
I know a savoury cheesecake may sound a little confusing but once you’ve had your first mouthful, you’ll be convinced.
Once of the many things I like about this cheesecake is the base, not using a sweet biscuit base and using a buttery cheese flavoured biscuit, I used good old fashioned Chedders, adds a base that quite frankly, I’ve been spotted nibbling on when I’ve ‘accidentally’ made too much of it.
Another thing to add here is how rich this cheesecake is.
It’s rich and a little goes a long way , so making it for a get together to eat with a simple salad and a glass of something cold is the perfect thing to do.
Using cheeses with some other element such as the cranberry Wensleydale and the flavoured goats’ cheese, means that it’s not just a one note dish.
Forking it in my mouth and feeling the cubes of not quite softened Brie and fruity Wensleydale adds texture and gives it an even more melt in the mouth feel, and the slightly herby goats cheese keeps each bite interesting.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
A make ahead very rich savoury cheesecake
What You Need
225g Chedders Biscuits or other cheese flavoured biscuits
115g Butter
300g Full Fat Cream Cheese
250g Cranberry Wensleydale - All rind removed & Chopped into cubes
300g 1 Small Wheel of Brie - All rind removed & Chopped into cubes
300g Garlic & Herb Soft Goats Cheese
4 Large Eggs
Sea Salt – To taste – See Tip Box
Avoid the mix getting onto the edge
Caramelised Fig Molasses Onion Topping
3 Large Onions – Peeled and thinly sliced
Vegetable oil to cook
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Fig Molasses or Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Sea Salt – See Tip Box
Don’t waste any of those tasty brown bits.
How It’s Done
Heat oven to 160c
Line a 20cm loose bottomed tin with a double layer of foil.
Place the cheese biscuits into a food processor and whizz until they turn into fine breadcrumbs. – See Tip Box
Place the crumbs into a bowl.
Melt the butter either in a saucepan or in a microwave and once melted, add it to the bowl with the cheese biscuits crumbs.
Mix them both together until the crumbs have soaked up all of the butter.
Pour the buttery crumbs into the prepared tin and use the back of a spoon or back of a measuring cup to firmly push the crumbs over the bottom and up the sides of the tin – See Tip Box
Leave the base in the fridge until needed
Place the cream cheese and the soft goat’s cheese into a bowl.
Using an electric whisk or a hand whisk, mix them both together until they become a smooth creamy mixture.
Once this is done, add the chopped cheese and mix it in so that it’s all evenly distributed.
Pour the cheese filling into the biscuit base, even out the top and place it into the hot oven to bake from 40-50 minutes – See Tip Box
Once cooked, switch the oven off, open the door and leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool completely
While the cheesecake is cooling, make the onion topping
Transfer to a serving plate and layer on the onions
Caramelised Fig Molasses Onions
Place the oil and sliced onions into a shallow pan, over a medium heat.
Add the sea salt and stir to mix it all together.
Let the onions sweat and cook until they’re transparent and begin to catch the edges and go brown
Make sure all of the brown bits that are stuck to the pan are scraped up and mixed in – these are all added flavour.
Keeping the onions on a medium heat, add the vinegar and the fig molasses (or brown sugar)
Mix well to combine and let it all cook together for another couple of minutes,
Once ready, transfer to a small bowl, scrap off any of those tasty brown bits from the pan into the bowl and let the onions cool completely
To assemble, remove the cold cheesecake from the tin and foil onto a serving plate.
Layer the onions over the top avoiding the biscuit edges
Serve at room temperature
Can be stored in the fridge for several days
Chunks of unmelted Brie an Cranberry Wensleydale iinside
Tip Box
No food processor? – Place the biscuits onto a bad and hit them with a rolling pin of the base of a saucepan.
Press firmly – Make sure the buttery crumbs are pressed nice and firmly in the base and up the sides of the tin. Try to keep the thickness of the sides as even all the way around, as possible.
Baking – 1) All ovens are different so adjust the baking time accordingly
2) The cheesecake is baked when the edges of the filling look firm and the middle still has a little bit of a wobble.
3) If the top begins to look too brown, cover in a loose layer of foil until the end of baking.
Sea Salt – I love the flavour that sea salt brings, but it’s not essential to have to or use it. Use every day salt instead, but be a little less generous with it as it is more salty.
Yummy and good to look at , a cheese lovers dream
