Serves an optimistic 12

The Base (discovered in ‘The Pocket Bakery’ by Rose Prince)

•  120g/4½oz softened butter
• 165g/6oz Demerara sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¼tsp vanilla extract
• 225g/7½oz plain flour
• ¾tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt

Cream 80g/2¾oz of the butter with the Demerara sugar until is is lighter in colour and very soft with a flat beater. Add the egg, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder and fine salt. Mix again. Scrape the dough out onto your work-surface and form into a ball, then press into a disc, wrap in cling film and put into the fridge.

Pre-heat your oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 and prepare your 22cm/9″ springform cake tin.

After half an hour your dough should be roll-able. Between two sheets of cling film, roll until it is approximately ½cm/¼” thick. Then, transfer to a baking sheet lined with bake-o-glide or baking parchment.

Bake for 15 minutes until it is golden and ‘cooked’ through. Set aside to cool. (Four Oven Aga: I cook on the top set of runners in the Baking Oven for 15 minutes.)

Break into shards and put into the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until it becomes sandy crumbs. (Or place in a plastic bag and bash until you reach the same stage.)

Melt the remaining 40g butter and add that to the crumb mix.

Melt the remaining 40g of butter. Add that to the biscuit crumbs. Whiz again. Then pour into the lined and greased springform tin and press in, evenly and firmly.

Wrap the base of the cake tin in strong foil to make a waterproof coat. Place in a large roasting tin.

The Filling

• 900g/2lb full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 170g carton of soured cream
• 170g double cream, I measure using the soured cream pot
• 270g/9½oz caster sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 vanilla pod, split with a knife lengthways and the sticky seeds scraped out with a teaspoon

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF/Gas Mark 3.

Place the cream cheese into a bowl and beat until smooth.

Add the double cream and soured cream and beat again.

Now the sugar and eggs. Mix for 5 minutes on a medium speed until your cheesecake mix is silky smooth.

Add the vanilla seeds and mix to incorporate.

Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top with an angled palette knife.

Put on the kettle. Once boiling, pour the water into the roasting tin until the hot water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform cake tin. Then transfer to the oven. Bottom set of runner for 1½ hours. (Aga: cook for 20 mins on the grid shelf on the floor of the Roasting Oven and then transfer to the simmering oven for a further 2 hours.)

Once the sides are slightly pulling away from the baking parchment and the centre is set but still has a slight wobble, turn the oven off. Leave the cheesecake in place and leave to cool very gently for an hour. (Aga: remove the cheesecake from the Simmering Oven and either place on a cooling rack on the warming plate or leave to cool in the water bath.)

Cover the top with foil, making sure it isn’t in contact with the delicate cheesecake top, and put in the fridge to chill for a further four hours or so.

Completely cold, remove the cheesecake from the wrappings. Loosen the clip and peel away the baking parchment. The flat base of a large quiche/flan tin makes it easier to transfer to a serving plate.

Decorate with fresh raspberries. With warmed, thinned with water, sieved and cooled raspberry jam – glaze. Serve at room temperature. Eat.