During the first Olympic Games, which took place in 776 in Olympia, in the north-west of the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, the athletes were given little cheesecakes to eat. The recipe has sadly not been handed down and we can only guess what the cakes may have tasted like. The oldest surviving cheesecake recipe comes from Marcus Porcius Cato, known as Cato the Elder or Cato the Censor (234–149 B.C.), a Roman politician with a particular weakness for good food and fine wine. He wrote books on history, agriculture, wine production and cooking. In his work “De Agricultura” can be found a recipe for libum, a cheesecake made from two pounds of cheese, one pound of flour and an egg. The ingredients were mixed together and baked slowly on a hot stone.

Athenaeus, a Greek writer, gives the following recipe for cheesecake in his book “Scholars at Dinner”, written in around 200 A.D.: “Take cheese and pound it until it forms a soft paste. Put the cheese in a metal sieve and add honey and spring wheat flour. Heat the mixture, allow it to cool and then serve.” By around 1000 A.D., when cheesecake crossed the Alps with the Roman armies and reached Northern Europe and Britain, it was still a relatively dense mixture. After this it seems to have disappeared from the recipe books for a long period, only reappearing in the 17th century, firstly in recipe collections of European settlers in North America and secondly rediscovered by a cook to the Elector of Heidelberg.

When it comes to cheesecake, the variations are endless. For example, the typical American cheesecake has a base made of biscuit crumbs, while shortcrust pastry is used in Switzerland and Germany. The base of Silesian cheesecake is usually made of yeast dough and breadcrumbs. In Russia they make a unique combination of cheesecake and chocolate cake, with a base and sides made of chocolate-flavoured dough. In contrast, the Corsican Fiadone has no base at all and is made of brocciu, a traditional cream cheese from the island. Some people believe that a cheesecake is simply an excuse for adding all kinds of fresh fruit, but we will keep to mother's recipe:
 

Cheesecake

Serves 12–16

300 g white flour
250 g cold butter
330 g sugar
Salt
7 medium eggs
1 organic lemon
125 g sour cream
750 g cream cheese
50 g cornflour
Baking parchment, cling film

Preparation:
1. Mix together the flour with 150 g cubed butter, 80 g sugar, 1 pinch of salt and 1 egg. Form the pastry into a ball, wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for about half an hour.

2. Melt the remaining butter and leave to cool.

3. Separate the remaining eggs. Beat the yolks with 250 g sugar until they are pale yellow and foamy. Grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Mix both with the egg yolks. Add the sour cream and the cream cheese, sprinkle in the cornflour and mix together. Pour in the butter without the whey which remains on the bottom of the pan.

4. Preheat the oven to 210°C (conventional setting) or 180°C (fan setting). Cut out a piece of baking parchment the same size as the baking tray. Roll out the pastry on the paper under a piece of cling film. Put the paper with the pastry onto the baking tray.

5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and add them to the cheese mixture using a spatula or whisk. Spread the mixture evenly on the pastry. Bake on the first shelf up from the bottom for 25-30 minutes. After 15 minutes, cover with a baking tray or baking parchment. Remove the cake from the baking tray with the paper and leave to cool.

Tip: This cheesecake is ideal for freezing.

Cheesecakes must be light, airy and moist, with a pastry base that is not too thick. The top should ideally be a bright golden yellow colour, slightly browned at the edges.