Cá Phê Dá Coffee Cheesecake

There's always some form of food-based hype floating around my Twitter feed. The kind where I often find myself wondering whether waffles every day is an acceptable form of breakfast or if its ok to eat Speculoos straight from the jar. Usually the consensus rules and anything goes.

In this instance, I came across the simple notion of iced coffee lattes. Fill a glass up with homemade espresso ice cubes and cover with milk. Quick, cheaper than a shop-bought frappe and so much better.


So when flicking through my books to decide what to bake this weekend, this recipe practically jumped out, took my hand and filled my trolley with 3 large tubs of cream cheese all on its own.

This cheesecake is based on cá phê dá, a Vietnamese iced coffee made with condensed milk. Creamy and golden with toffee undertones, an indulgent end to Sunday dinner.

I made this the day before serving and let it chill overnight in the fridge to give me time on the day to prepare dinner for my Sunday guests. Possibly one of the most straightforward cheesecake recipes I've used, and the most rewarding.

Cá Phê Dá coffee cheesecake

From Gizzi Erskine's Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts this scored 8/10 on her wicked rating. Need I say anymore?

Cá Phê Dá coffee cheesecake base
(Recipe from Gizzi Erskine's Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts)

85ml butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
200g digestive biscuits, whizzed to fine crumbs in a food processor
1 tbsp golden caster sugar

For the filling
3 x 300g tubs full-fat cream cheese
1 x 400g can condensed milk
50g muscovado sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
5-6 tbsp extra strong espresso coffee
2-3 tbsp Kahlüa
3 large eggs, plus one yolk

Heat the oven to 160 degrees. Line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.

For the biscuit base, stir the melted butter into the biscuit crumbs and sugar until evenly mixed. Press the mixture into the base of the tin and bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool while you prepare the filling.

Raise the oven temperature to 200 degrees. In a food processor, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then gradually add the condensed milk, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, coffee and kahlüa. Whisk in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. The filling should be smooth, light and a little airy.

Pour the filling into the tin and bake for 20 minutes then reduce the oven to 100 degrees and bake for a further 25 minutes, or until the filling wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin. When it has reached this point, turn off the oven and open the door for a cheesecake that's creamy in the centre, or leave it closed if you prefer a drier texture. Either way, leave it to cool in the oven for 2 hours. The cheesecake may crack slightly on top as it cools.

Once cool, cover the cheesecake loosely with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, run a round bladed-knife around the inside of the tin and slide the cheesecake off the bottom onto a plate, slipping the baking paper out from underneath before serving.

Part of Cook Blog Share, by Supergolden Bakes.