Recipes: Vanilla and lemon cheesecake | Double ginger cheesecake | Dark chocolate and orange cheesecake

Several months ago I wrote about savoury cheesecakes, but this week I turn my attention to sweet cheesecakes, completely inspired, it must be said, by eating those made by the Devenick Dairy, near Aberdeen, at a tasting at the final of the prestigious Grampian food awards earlier this year. I have overlooked cheesecakes for far too long.

Lovingly made, a cheesecake is the most wonderful of puds, and as varied in flavour and content as you like. And they are convenient to make, needing to be done well in advance of serving - ideal for the busy cook.

You can alternate the bases for these recipes, for instance, use the chocolate base for the double ginger cheesecake, and use the ginger base for the dark chocolate cheesecake. Either the chocolate or the ginger base makes an excellent substitute for the vanilla base for the lemon cheesecake. Versatility is everything!

Double ginger cheesecake

SERVES 6 GENEROUSLY

For the base

8oz/220g ginger snaps, whizzed in a food processor to fine crumbs and mixed well with

1 tablespoon granulated (I use golden granulated) sugar and

2oz/55g butter melted

Press this mixture firmly over the base and up the sides of a springform cake tin measuring 9in/18cm diameter. Bake in a moderate heat, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes, then cool the baked crust.

For the filling

2x8oz/220g packs of cream cheese such as Philadelphia and

8oz/220g mascarpone

3 large eggs

6oz/175g caster sugar

1 rounded tablespoon self-raising flour sieved with

1 rounded teaspoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 pieces preserved ginger drained of its syrup and diced quite small

2-3oz/55-85g coarsely grated dark chocolate, for garnishing the baked and cooled cheesecake

Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone together and beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the caster sugar and sieved flour and ground ginger. Mix everything very well.

Beat in the vanilla extract and the diced preserved ginger. I use a handheld electric beater for this. Pour and scrape the mixture into the cooled crust and smooth the surface even. Bake at a low temperature, 100C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 55-60 minutes - there should be a slight wobble in the centre when the cheesecake is baked, and when you gently shake the cake tin. The sides will be slightly puffed up. Take it out of the oven, and leave in a cool place to cool completely.

This can be made the day before it is needed. Unclip the tin, and carefully run a wide metal spatula under the base of the cheesecake, between the crust and the tin base, and lift it onto a serving plate.

If your courage fails, just lift the base of the cheesecake on the cake tin base onto the serving plate. But it is much easier to serve without the cake tin base and it really isn't tricky to separate the base from the cheesecake base.

Before serving, strew the surface with the coarsely grated dark chocolate. Serve, in generous slices.

Dark chocolate and orange cheesecake

SERVES 6 GENEROUSLY

For the base

8 oz/220g dark chocolate digestive biscuits, whizzed in a food processor to fine crumbs then mixed well with

1 tablespoon granulated sugar and

2oz/55g melted butter

Press this mixture over the base and sides of a 9in/22cm springform cake tin. Bake in a moderate heat, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 15 minutes, then cool completely before adding and baking the filling.

For the filling

2 x 8oz/220g packs Philadelphia and

8oz/220g mascarpone

3 large eggs

4oz/110g caster sugar

8oz/220g dark chocolate, melted over gentle heat - over a pan of water just off the boil and with the base of the bowl not touching the water.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

finely grated rind of 1 orange

1 rounded tablespoon self-raising flour, sieved

Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone together and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the caster sugar well, then beat in the melted dark chocolate, the vanilla and grated orange rind and sieved flour. Mix everything thoroughly, then scrape this mixture over the cooled baked chocolate crust. Smooth the surface even and bake in a low temperature oven, 100C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 55-60 minutes - the sides should be puffed up and the centre very slightly wobbly.

Cool the cheesecake overnight in the tin, then to serve, unclip the tin, and lift off the sides. Run a wide metal palette knife under the base of the cheesecake and carefully lift it onto a serving plate.

Garnish, if you like, with whipped double cream spread over the surface and coarsely grated dark chocolate sprinkled over the cream. Optional, but very good!

Vanilla and lemon cheesecake

SERVES 6 GENEROUSLY

For the base

8oz/220g sponge fingers

2oz/55g melted butter

teaspoon vanilla extract

Break the sponge fingers into a food processor and whiz to fine crumbs. Mix into the melted butter with the vanilla extract, then press this mixture firmly over the base and the sides of a springform cake tin measuring 9in/22cm. diameter. Bake in a moderate heat, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes. Take the tin out of the oven, and cool completely before filling and baking.

For the filling

2 x 8oz/220g packs of Philadelphia

8oz/220g mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6oz/175g caster sugar

3 large eggs

1 rounded tablespoon self-raising flour, sieved

finely grated rind of 2 lemons

fresh fruit, such as late season raspberries or strawberries, to serve with the lemon and vanilla cheesecake.

Beat together the cream cheeses, and beat in the vanilla extract, caster sugar, and the eggs, one at a time and beating each in well before adding the next. Beat in the sieved self-raising flour and, lastly, the finely grated rind of two lemons. Scrape this mixture into the cooled cake tin, and smooth it even. Bake in a low temperature, 100C/300F/Gas Mark 2 for 55-60 minutes - the sides should be slightly puffed up and the centre, when the cake tin is gently shaken, just wobbling. Leave for several hours or better still, overnight. Then before serving, unclip the sides of the cake tin, and run a wide palette knife beneath the base of the cheesecake.

Lift the cheesecake onto a serving plate, and strew with either raspberries or sliced strawberries, to garnish, and have some whole fruit around the base of the cheesecake on the serving plate. Slice to serve.

TOP TIP: Help to avoid a lumpy cheesecake texture by ensuring ingredients are at room temperature before use

• This article was first published in The Scotsman on September 25, 2010