Orange cheesecake using pȃte à foncer

A pie newbie makes pie with a thicker pie crusts , the more for eating with.

Of late, I have been snooping Daiso for baking implements so that I can enjoy  my hobby on the cheap. I have a couple of pie dishes, all bought with the hope of making an incredible pie, but the size was a tad too big for a family of three. Besides, there was the perpetual problem of transferring a big piece of pastry from worktop to dish without incident.

When I spied this fun sized pie dish to be had for only $2 which could not be considered an indulgence,  it quickly became mine.

Small need not be simple. Since I am still a pie newbie, the pastry base would have been a greater  challenge  had it not been for the easier  pate a foncer  flan  base that made for easy handling .

On the whole, the pie was consumed in a night which I took  as an approval by my testers. 

Meanwhile, my testers should anticipate an increase supply of pie dessert as I hone my skills.

Ingredients :

240g  pȃte à foncer

100 g cream cheese

50g plain yogurt

40g fine sugar

1 tsp marmalade

1/4 orange blossom extract ( or orange zest )

18cm pie dish

Orange jam to glaze before serving

Method  for Pie base :

Preheat oven to 170C.

Prepare  pȃte à foncer. Grease and dust  a 18 cm flan dish. Chill pan until ready for use.

On a lightly floured worktop, roll out the pate to the diameter of the dish , including height with a little excess for overhang.

Use the rolling pin to estimate the size of the pastry to be rolled out.

Transfer pastry  to the dusted flan dish. Trim the edge of the flan and press the pastry against the sides  to make a rippled pattern.

Use the tines of a fork and make holes on the base of the pie. This prevents moisture from being trapped at the base of the pie.

Line the flan with a cut out baking sheet and weigh it down with baking beans.

Bake blind  ,at 170C for 30 minutes. Remove beans and bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove flan from the oven.

Method for Cheese filling and final assembly :

Reduce oven temperature to 140C.

Prepare 2 mixing bowls for the cheese filling.

In bowl A, combine cheese,yogurt, sugar, orange extract, marmalade and beat to combine.

In bowl B, whisk eggs until pale and fluffy.

Transfer egg to cheese  mixture and mix  manually.

Pour cheese filling onto cooked flan.

Bake at 140C for 1 hr 15 minutes or until cheese in the center of the flan is set.

Brush with orange jam. If you own a blow torch, scorch the jam to caramelize.