London Cheesecake

Do you fancy trying a London cheesecake?

This old fashioned slice is more of an iced frangipane cake or a cherry bakewell and it's sweet, sticky and delicious!

And, as it uses ready made puff pastry, it's easy to make at home too.

Perfect for afternoon tea too.

Enjoy

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Cooking Time
• 🥙 Substitutions
• 🍣 Storage
• 📋 Recipe
• Desserts
• 💬 Comments

I was really confused when I first heard about London cheesecake, because the main thing about it is that it doesn't have any cheese in it! In fact, it would seem that our American friends invented the cheesecake we know today and this cake bares no relation to it at all.

From my research, this cake was made in some London bakeries and was quite popular in the past and still remembered by some. However, my parents were both from different parts of London and never mentioned it to me.

It consists of one or two layers of puff pastry with the bottom layer spread with jam and then sometimes a frangipane or coconut layer is added. Then it is baked or another layer of pastry added first. It's then smothered with glacé icing and sweetened or dessicated coconut. Sometimes, a glacé cherry is added too. To me, a better description would be a cherry bakewell slice or frangipane cake.

However, in a 1966 version of a Good Housekeeping cookbook that I have I came across a recipe for cheesecake. It consisted of a shortcrust pastry base filled with a frangipane mix enriched with cream cheese, lemon rind and currants which was then baked. Perhaps this was the inspiration?

With so many permutations I'm bound to offend someone and get this wrong! Anyway, here is my version and I would love any Londoners to put me straight on the facts or suggest any improvements.

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

• Easy to make.
• Perfect for afternoon tea.
• The name is a talking point!

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🥘 Ingredients

Here's a few notes on the ingredients.

• Ground almonds - widely available and I often get mine from Lidl. In the US use almond flour or almond meal.
• Glacé cherries - also known as candied cherries.
• Caster sugar - superfine or baker's sugar.
• Icing sugar- confectioner's sugar.
• Butter - salted or unsalted.
• Coconut - many people have said that these cakes were decorated by long strands of coconut, which differs considerably from plain dessicated coconut. I got this flaked and sweetened coconut from Amazon.
• Puff pastry - you'll need ready rolled puff pastry and the butter version is best. Take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to use it, but if it's a warm day you may need to put it back in the fridge.

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

🍽 Equipment

• pizza wheel or sharp knife
• baking tray
• pastry brush
• mixing bowl
• wooden spoon
• baking parchment
• cooling rack

🔪 Instructions

💭 Top Tip

Unroll the pastry and seal any cracks with your fingers. Cut into 12 rectangular pieces.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and place 6 pieces of pastry on the sheet.

In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and caster sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

You can use an electric mixer if you prefer.

Beat in the egg.

Fold in the ground almonds.

If the mixture seems overly wet, add an extra tablespoon of ground almonds.

Use a pastry brush to brush the surface of the pastry on the tray with jam.

Divide the frangipane mixture between the 6 pastry pieces and smooth to cover.

I used a medium ice cream scoop to measure it out, but you can just use 2 teaspoons.

Add a pastry lid on top and push down lightly.

⏲️ Cooking Time

Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / 180 FAN / Gas 6.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden.

The frangipane mixture tends to spread and some may escape from between the pastry.

Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes and then use the pizza wheel to tidy the edges of cheesecakes.

Transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the icing by mixing the water with the icing sugar.

Start off with a teaspoon and gradually add enough to get a smooth spreadable paste.

Spread the icing over the top of the cakes.

Place a cherry half in the middle of each one and sprinkle the coconut on top.

Enjoy your non cheesy London cheesecakes!

🥙 Substitutions

• Cherries - leave them out or use candied peel.
• Flaked coconut - use dessicated coconut or multicoloured sprinkles.

🍣 Storage

• These keep well in an airtight container for 5 days but are best eaten fresh.

More bakes like this

• Buxton Pudding
• Butterscotch Tart
• Eve's Pudding
• Sultana Scones
• Date Scones
• Melting Moments
• Chocolate Tiffin
• Congress Tarts
• Ginger Loaf Cake
• Fruit Loaf
• Cherry Madeira Cake
• Raspberry Frangipane Tart

📋 Recipe

🍲Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe?

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