Name: This Anzac Crunchie Cheesecake is the dessert mashup you didn’t know you needed
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1½ x 300g packets Anzac biscuits; 150g butter, melted; 3 x 50g bars Crunchie chocolate, coarsely chopped; FILLING; 2 x 250g blocks cream cheese, chopped; ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar; 2 tbsp golden syrup; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 250g tub sour cream; 3 eggs

Baked, chilled, you name it, I’ve done it.

Not just as Managing Food Editor, but as a Recipe Developer, you’d think there are only so many ways to make a cheesecake. And you’d think I’d be tired of it.

Think again!

If you’re here because you’re looking to spruce up your regular cheesecake recipe, let me put the Anzac Crunchie Cheesecake on your radar.

A point of difference: this recipe calls for golden syrup in the cheesecake filling – and rather than the tablespoon or cup measure being left with that syrupy residue that’s a pain to scrape off, try spraying the utensil with cooking oil before measuring. And this applies to any sticky ingredient, such as honey.

Got a million and one bowls piling up around the sink? Rather than also pulling out the stand mixer, mix the filling in the same food processor as was used for the biscuit crumbs.

Just don’t overmix the cheesecake filling otherwise it’ll curdle.

And when transferring your cheesecake to a serving plate – remove the side of the springform pan, then use the base of a loose-base flan tin to help slide the cheesecake from the springform base onto a serving plate.

Cheesecake New Idea in springform tin — Springform tins can make all the difference when it comes to baking your Anzac Crunchie Cheesecake. *(Credit: New Idea Food )*

Voila!

You can make this cheesecake up to three days ahead and serve it with whipped cream if you prefer.

Ingredients

1½ x 300g packets Anzac biscuits

150g butter, melted

3 x 50g bars Crunchie chocolate, coarsely chopped

FILLING

2 x 250g blocks cream cheese, chopped

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

250g tub sour cream

3 eggs

Method

Step 1

Invert base of a 23cm springform pan. Grease and line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above pan edge.

Step 2

Process biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed. Add butter. Process until combined. Press over base and up the side of pan. Place on an oven tray. Refrigerate.

Step 3

FILLING Beat cheese, sugar, syrup and vanilla in a large bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Don’t over beat.

Step 4

Pour over biscuit base. Sprinkle evenly with Crunchie. Lightly press into filling.

Step 5

Cook in a 150°C (fan-forced) preheated oven for 50-55 mins, or until filling is just set. It should have a slight wobble. Turn off oven. Cool cheesecake in oven with door ajar, for 1 hour. Remove. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

Step 6

Remove from fridge 1 to 2 hours before serving. Serve.

Karen Buckley Managing Food Editor

Growing up, Karen’s formative years were defined by cooking and baking alongside her loved ones. Since then, she’s turned this lifelong passion into a career, with an acquired 30 years of experience in leading test kitchens, developing the recipes you know and love. Across the New Idea, New Idea Food, Woman’s Day, Take 5, and That’s Life digital and print brands, she develops enough recipes in a year to last you 365 days (not that we’re counting). And with a TAFE Home Economics Certification under her belt, her dedication to creating healthy, affordable and delicious food has always been at the centre of the recipes she creates. And for Karen, this also applies to her own meal-planning repertoire at home: she’ll avoid buying processed products, instead incorporating fresh wholefoods where she can.

Lara Carlucci Editorial Assistant

Lara is an Editorial Assistant to Managing Food Editor Karen Buckley for New Idea, New Idea Food, Woman’s Day, Take 5, and That’s Life, and an Assistant and Writer for Diabetic Living. With a Bachelor of Media (Communications & Journalism), a Bachelor of Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences (Honours), she’s always nurtured a passion and love for writing in whatever form it takes, wanting to share stories that matter. Food is her second love: shaped by her Italian heritage, and the countless large family gatherings that are always comprised of wholesome, generous meals prepared by loved ones. If not around the banquet table, she’ll take every opportunity to sample Sydney’s endless supply of cuisines – having visited over 70 food joints in the last year alone!