Cheesecakes ~ Anne Ager

Cheesecakes. This book certainly has a lot of them. Who knew there were so many to choose from? Published in 1981 the book is filled with glossy pictures of it's offerings, which are divided into the five chapters of cooked sweet cheesecakes, uncooked sweet cheesecakes, party cheesecakes, not-quite cheesecakes and savoury cheesecakes. Yes, I said savoury cheesecakes, which strike me as akin to the sort of savoury mousse and aspic ring type of things that were popular back in the 1970's (or earlier). Think Alvin Purple dinner party maybe (though perhaps not so risqué).

There are certainly some quite delicious recipes, from the baked Rhubarb and orange cheesecake and Chocolate cheesecake, to the uncooked Lemon cheesecake, Strawberry cheesecake and Peach melba cheesecake. The not-quite section features delights such as Coeurs á la créme and Strawberry cheese pie, and the exciting party cheesecake chapter features gems like the Mocha rum cheesecake and the Chestnut cheesecake. Some of the savoury offerings in this party cheesecake section and most of the savoury chapter have me a little concerned though. I could probably almost cope with the Minted cucumber cheesecake, however recipes like the Layered salad cheesecake and the Smoked haddock cheesecake really leave me scratching my head. That said, I've often felt tempted to make the Sardine cheesecake to take along to a work morning tea and not tell anyone it's savoury - just for a little bit of fun.

This is a mixed bag. Recommended for dessert lovers. I'll let you decide on the savoury selection for yourself.

- Kath