Recipe: Savoury Cheesecake

I have been wanting to make a savoury cheesecake for a long time. I have searched for recipes and have only found a handful. One is a buffalo hot sauce and blue cheese one. I will get to it in good time.

In the meantime, someone gave me a large bag of onions and I recently tried some triscuits with rosemary...

But before that, I had to decide on a base recipe that I could use. I have tried many types of cheesecake; New York, no-bake, other kinds of cheese. The variations for recipes of these types without going into Italian and Japanese are way too many.

In my twenties, I had come across a recipe that was like New York but lighter and it rose a bit higher in the cooking. The closest I have come to it in recent days in the one on the No Name cheesecake lid. This became my starter recipe.

So, I put this here.

Onion and Bacon Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs (I used the Rosemary Triscuits)
1/2 cup  unsalted butter

Filling:
225g (1/2 lb) bacon fried crispy, reserve fat
2 or 3 large onions, fried in butter and caramelized

1 pkg (250g) Cream Cheese (room temp)
1 pkg (225-250) goat or sheep soft cheese (room temp)
4 eggs
1/3 cup cream or milk
3 tbsp of reserved bacon fat

Preheat Oven: 325F

Make crust. Make crumbs if you don't have. Mix crumbs with butter and press into a 9" springform pan. Bake on middle oven rack until golden. 12-14 minutes.

Make filling. In bowl, mix with an electric mixer, the cheeses. Beat until very creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Scrape down sides. Beat in cream or milk. Add bacon fat. Fold in bacon bits. Fold in onions to taste. A good guide is that every bite will get a bit of bacon and onion but not too much of either. Pour mixture into mold.

Bake. Bake on middle rack for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 300F and then bake for another 20-28 minutes. It should have a soft jiggle. Warnings to not overcook. Yadda yadda yadda. Turn off oven nd let it sit with door slightly ajar. This is supposed to stop it from cracking. Omit this if you need the oven.

Cool.

That's it.

Other notes: I liked serving it with applesauce. It tastes like french onion dip or a refined cheeseball. A little slice goes a long way. Would be great as a first course with other cheese or with some fruit or fruit jellies. Jalapeno would work.

The crackers don't matter as long as they are savoury. I like the rosemary as it added some bitterness to cut through the fat. I would mess a bit to get it fluffier. I avoided adding sugar due to the onion sweetness. I could definitely see using a spicy sweet glaze.

All in all, I have made this twice and would do it again. Using different cheeses like ricotta or cottage would change the texture and bring some more interest to it.