The below recipe makes a lovely large cheesecake which would certainly feed 10-12 people. You can cut the recipe in half and make a smaller cake, i made little individual ones for my family as we were having a tea party. This is seriously a good cheesecake!



BAKED CURD CHEESECAKE (NEW YORK STYLE)
Serves 10- 14
350g digestive biscuits
120g unsalted butter, melted
Plus extra for greasing
300g light or low fat cream cheese
600g fresh curds
150g caster sugar
5 large eggs, preferably free range or organic
Juice of 6 limes (approx 125 ml)
Finely grated zest of 1 lime

For the meringue topping
3 large egg whites, preferably free range or organic (use the yolks in mayo, or scrambled eggs)
110g caster sugar
40g desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven to 160`C and grease a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Put your biscuits into a food processor and whiz until you’ve got really fine crumbs, then mix in your melted butter. Spread the biscuits around the base of your greased tin, making sure you get right to the edges, then press it with your hands to pack it down. Place the tin on a baking sheet and pop it into the fridge while you make the filling.
Whiz the cream cheese and curd in a food processor until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Pour in the lime juice and whiz again until just combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks to thin it is suppose to be like that! Tip it over your chilled base, spread it out evenly, and bake it the oven for around 45 to 55 minutes - you want the cheesecake to still have a slight loose wobble. Remove from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes to cool slightly. Turn the oven up 220`C.
To make the meringue topping, put your egg whites into a clean bowl and beat until they form soft peaks - an electric whisk it quite handy here. Gradually add the caster sugar and beat until thick and glossy. Finally, fold in the coconut. Spoon this meringue mixture on the middle of the cooled cheesecake and spread it to the edges, using the back of a spoon, so it just covers the filling. It should be about 2cm thick. I like to make a few ripples and peaks in the top so it looks impressive. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is starting to turn golden in colour and is crisp to touch.
Let it cool down, then place in the fridge, for a good few hours (very important) to chill before serving. Carefully remove it from the tin, transfer it to a nice platter and sprinkle over lime or lemon zest. Yummy!