I recently travelled to Mpumalanga on assignment for Getaway, to research a story on macadamia nuts.
My nut-filled road trip through the province took me to beautiful orchards on the border of Mozambique, to family-owned farms with sloping fields of nut and avo trees and to factories with industrial-sized nutcrackers. My favourite part of the trip, however, was actually eating the nuts. Lots of lodges and restaurants in the region serve dishes cooked with the nuts, like this macadamia cheesecake from Fez in White River. It’s rich, creamy, luscious, indulgent and utterly delicious.
Ingredients
Base:
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 50g ginger nut biscuits
- 100g melted butter
Filling:
- 750g cream cheese
- 200g castor sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 50ml maple syrup
- 70g macadamia nuts, chopped
- 3 extra large eggs
Topping:
- 400ml sour cream
- 50g castor sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 30g macadamia nuts, chopped
Cooking method
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees.
Crush the biscuits or whizz in a food processor until fine. Melt the butter and add to the crumbs. Press the crumb mixture into the base of a well-greased 22cm springform tin and refrigerate whilst you make the filling.
Whisk the cream cheese with an electric beater. When soft and creamy, add in the castor sugar, vanilla essence and maple syrup and chopped macadamia nuts. Mix ingredients together well. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Pour mixture into a well-greased 22cm springform cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven. Add a roasting pan of hot water to the bottom shelf of the oven to prevent the cake from cracking.
Bake cheesecake for 45 minutes. It should be golden brown on top and still have a wobble. Take it out of the oven while you make the topping. Mix the ingredients for the topping together and pour over the cake. Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until it has set. Put the cake straight into the fridge – this prevents further cracking. Chill the cake for at least two to three hours but preferably overnight.
Macadamia cheesecake recipe courtesy of Fez in White River (Tel 0137501253).
