8-minute microwave Cheese Cake

Microwaved cheese cake with naartjies and toasted hazelnuts

 It is a standing joke, with my wife, Joy, that, whenever she complains she can't sleep, I suggest she use the time to bake a cheese cake.
 It's an old, tired joke and I know the result. It hasn't happened in around 35 years of marriage and she sees no reason to change that.
 So, I figured the only way I'd get a homemade cheesecake was to make it myself, something seemingly way beyond my limited abilities. But then I came across a recipe in Afrikaans magazine, Sarie for an 8-minute microwaved cheese cake that any oke can make.
 It appeared right up my alley. No oven baking and a crust made of crushed biscuits and butter.
 However, it called for raspberries not something easily found in my little town. I was defeated before I even started. When I told Joy, she sighed, rolled her eyes and sympathetically patted the top of my head.
 "Use strawberry jam instead," she said, as though explaining to a slow child.

Smaller dishes

 The original recipe calls for a 20cm x 14cm (8" x 6") microwave-proof bread pan that I did not have, so I used two smaller dishes and ended up not having enough mixture to fill either dish properly. I guess there is a reason they say baking is science and cooking art!
 And, because the dishes were smaller, I cooked each cake for 4 minutes rather than the 8 minutes listed in the original recipe.
 I am delighted with the result. The final product did not look as good as the photographs in the magazine - canned strawberries are not as beautiful as fresh strawberries -  but the end result was delicious. The filling was tangy and slightly tart, the biscuit-crust, crisp and the crushed nuts, sprinkled on top, provided a wonderful, crunchy texture.

Genius

 It was suggested I garnish the second cheese cake with lightly fried naartjies (tangerines) and that I toast the hazelnuts. That suggestion was a stroke of genius and lifted the cheese cake to restaurant-quality status, in taste, if not presentation. But then we old farts are more interested in taste and efficiency than cullinary artworks.

The 8-minute microwave cheese cake recipe:

Ingedients:

Ingredients

1 x 200g packet of coconut cookies
100g melted butter
500ml thick, strawberry yoghurt
1 x 385ml tin of condensed milk
100g raspberries (I substituted with a tablespoon of strawberry jam)
5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence
Juice and zest of two lemons
100g finely chopped roasted hazelnuts
2 fresh naartjies (tangerines) to garnish. (Substitute with other berries if you prefer.)

Method:

1.  Blitz and crumb the cookies in a food processor. Add the melted butter and work into a crumbly dough.
2.  Line a microwave-proof 20cm x 14cm (8" x 6") bread pan with well-greased baking paper. Make sure the baking paper extends well beyond the edges of the baking pan so it is easy to lift the cake out later.

If you do not line the baking tray with baking paper, it is difficult to cut and remove clean slices

3.  Line the pan with the biscuit crumbs.
4.  Combine and mix well, the yoghurt, condensed milk, vanilla essence, strawberry jam/raspberries, juice and jest and pour the mixture into the biscuit-lined pan.

5.  Cook in the microwave on high for 8 minutes. (Take note of what I said further up in the article regarding cooking times. I think 8 minutes may be too long.) The mixture will boil.
6.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours, although overnight is better.
7.  Garnish with nuts and naartjies/strawberries.

Fresh strawberries and more filling would look better

Despite the flaws it tasted stupendous!

Conclusion:

This is a desert any oke can easily make. It got rave reviews from all who tasted it and got me wondering: If I were single, invited a 25 year-old girl around and served her this, would I likely get lucky? The answer is a resounding "Yes" - if I also was 30 years younger and 30 pounds lighter!