London Cheesecake
It's got no cheese in it. It may not even be from London. But it is delicious!
I was asked to make London Cheesecake. As I had never heard of it I did some research and found it had no cheese in it, and had nothing to do with London. I did some Googling to find out why and how it got it's name, only to find out that no-one really knows......
So what is London Cheesecake?
London Cheesecake is, at the most basic level, 2 bits of puff pastry sandwiched together with jam in between. It is then decorated with thick fondant or glace icing and finished with shredded or flaked coconut.
I've asked around my friends, who know London Cheesecake, and got different reports of what is inside the puff pastry. Some said just jam, others told me there was a almond paste. So I tried both version, and got a great response for both version, so it's entirely up to you which one to try, depending on if you have time to faff, or like the idea of almond paste inside.
I originally had this post on my blog, and it caused quite a stir. Apparently people who know London Cheesecake feel quite passionate about the version they know - with or without jam and or almond paste. If you’ve heard of London Cheesecake I’d be interested in the version you’ve tried and where you tried it.
There are ingredient notes and a ‘how-to’ video after the recipe.
London Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
1 Packet Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
6tspn Jam
Almond Paste Filling - Optional Extra
50gms White Sugar
50gms Butter or Baking Spread
1 Egg
50gms Ground Almonds
Topping
200gms Fondant Icing Sugar, or Regular Icing Sugar with a tspn of glucose added
50-100ml Water
Shredded or Flaked Coconut
Instructions
Almond Paste
In a bowl cream together the butter/baking spread and sugar until light and fluffy
Add the add and mix through
Lastly add the almond and mix until fully combined
Constructing the pastry
Preheat your oven to 160c fan, 180c, 350f, GM4
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or parchment
Unroll the pastry and roll out a little thinner
Cut into 12 even rectangles
Lay 6 rectangles on the baking sheet
Spoon a teaspoon of jam on each one and spread it out. DO NOT spread right to the edges as it will spill out when you bake them
If you are using the almond paste, spoon a teaspoon of the mix on top of the jam, and again spread it out, making sure you keep away from the edges
Place the 6 remaining pieces of pastry on top and press down at the edges to seal the filling inside
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and well puffed up
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool fully
Whilst they are cooling make the topping
Put the icing sugar into a bowl and add 20-30ml of water and mix. Keep adding drizzles of water until you have a thick pouring consistency. You want it thin enough to be able to smooth over the pastry, but thick enough for it stick and not pour off the sides
Spoon onto the pastries and smooth out to the edges
Cover with coconut and leave to set
A notes on ingredients
Puff Pastry
I used shop bought, ready rolled puff pastry. This is for no other reason than I am lazy. In my opinion life is too short to make puff pastry. There are factories that make and roll it so much better than I ever can.
Jam
I used Strawberry Jam, because that's what I had in the cupboard. However, I think if you are including the almond paste either raspberry or cherry would taste amazing.
Icing Sugar for Glaze
I was also lucky to find Tate and Lyle Fondant Icing Sugar in my local supermarket. If you can't find the Fondant Icing Sugar, regular will do. If you add a little glucose it’ll give it a beautiful silky texture that won’t quite set.
Coconut
The coconut on London Cheesecake is crucial - without it, it's simply not London Cheesecake!
Shredded is the one that is preferred and most photographed. However, unless I wanted a 1kg bag of the stuff I couldn't get hold of any. I did however find flaked coconut in a local health food shop. Desiccated will work if you are in a fix, but it won't give you quite the same texture.
London Cheesecake Pro-Tip
These are sold in traditional bakeries all over the country. They are not pretty or refined, but they are well loved. If you are a small independent bakery with a retail outlet these are great bakes to include in your offering. They are inexpensive and easy to make, and are a crowd pleaser. If you do fairs and markets, these would be perfect!
They will keep well in an airtight container for a couple of days, so you don't have to be discarded at the end of the day and can be sold for a couple of days.
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