VANILLA WATER RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4, and grease and line the bottom and sides of a 24cm springform cake tin.
  2. Melt the butter, and crush the biscuits, then mix together in a bowl. Lightly press into the base of the prepared tin and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
  3. Turn the oven up to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
  4. Combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl, add the cream cheese and beat, ideally with an electric whisk, until creamy.
  5. Crack in the eggs and beat well, then gradually add the cream, beating until smooth.
  6. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, then scrape out the seeds and add to the bowl (if using), or add the vanilla extract, then finely grate in the lemon and orange zest.
  7. Scrape the mixture on to the biscuit base, and gently shake to level out the surface.
  8. Bake the cheesecake in the centre of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the filling has set around the edges (cover with a piece of tin foil, if browning too much).
  9. Let it cool at room temperature and serve after 2 or 3 hours, or, for a slightly firmer texture, place it in the fridge until it’s nice and cold.
  10. Before serving, destone the cherries and place in a pan, then sprinkle over the sugar and add a splash of water. Put on a medium-low heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes – if you’ve got some port or whisky handy, feel free to add some.
  11. Once reduced, it may be a little dry, so add a splash of water to loosen, if needed. Leave to cool, then serve spooned over the cheesecake with a dusting of icing sugar.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a round, deep 20cm tin, then line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
• Using electric beaters or a tabletop mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and ¼ tsp salt together until pale and fluffy, then pour in the eggs, one at a time, giving the mix a really good beating before adding the next.
• Add 1 tbsp of the plain flour if the mix starts to look slimy rather than fluffy. Beat in the yogurt. Mix the flours; then, using a large metal spoon, fold them into the batter, followed by the milk.
• Spoon the mix into the tin and bake for 1 hr 20 mins or until well risen and golden – a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the syrup by gently heating 50ml water with the sugar and vanilla in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. Once the cake is out of the oven, leave to cool for 30 mins in the tin, then use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake, going right to the bottom. Pour the syrup over, letting it completely soak in after each addition.
• Leave to cool completely, then either wrap the cake well or fill and ice it. If you wrap it with baking parchment and cling film, the unfilled cake will keep well for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
• For ideas on how to decorate the cake and to try out some variations on this basic cake mixture, have a look at the 'Goes well with' recipes for Simple elegance wedding cake, Birthday bug cake and Summer celebration cake.