Nadiya Hussain's Fizzy Pop Cheesecake

Ingredients

Pastry Base

• 250 grams flour
• 125 grams unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 50 grams powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon whole milk

Filling

• 225 grams full-fat cream cheese
• 50 grams sugar
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 2 balls stem ginger in syrup, ginger chopped (optional)
• 1 large unwaxed lemon, zest only (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

Ginger Beer Topping

• 7 Tablespoons double cream
• 100 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 4 Tablespoons stem ginger syrup (reserved from the stem ginger jar)

Lemonade Topping

• 7 Tablespoons double cream
• 100 grams good-quality white chocolate
• 2 teaspoons Sicilian lemon extract
• yellow gel food coloring

Cream Soda Topping

• 7 Tablespoons double cream
• 100 grams white chocolate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F.

For the pastry base, rub the flour into the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the icing sugar.

Whisk the egg and milk together in a separate bowl and add to the flour mixture. Use your hands to bring the dough together. Wrap in cling film and transfer to the freezer for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry as thinly as possible.

Line the tin with the pastry, making sure to leave some extra in case it shrinks (leave any excess pastry upright not hanging over the sides as it could be difficult to trim later). Prick the base with a fork and chill the filled tin for 15 minutes in the fridge.

Line the inside of the tin with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Place the tin on a baking tray. Blind bake the pastry shell for 15 minutes. Remove the baking beans and leave the pastry to cool in the tin.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

For the cream cheese filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until incorporated. Add the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and flour. Mix gently to avoid incorporating excess air and pour the mixture into the pastry case, leaving a small lip at the top which will be filled with sauce later.

For a ginger beer cheesecake, scatter the chopped ginger over the surface, or the lemon zest for a lemonade cheesecake. For a cream soda cheesecake, swirl in the vanilla paste.

Place the tin on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until each cheesecake is set with a slight wobble in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin.

For the ginger beer topping, heat the cream until just boiling then pour it over the chocolate. When melted, stir in the stem ginger syrup.

For the lemonade topping, heat the cream until just boiling then pour it over the chocolate. When melted, stir in the lemon extract and food coloring.

For the cream soda topping, heat the cream until just boiling then pour it over the chocolate. When melted, stir in the vanilla paste.

Once the topping has cooled a little, pour over the cheesecake. Cool in the fridge or freezer.