Whyte Cheesecake is an Albaland dessert consisting of a biscuit base with a filling of lime juice, jelly crystals and cream cheese. It may be served with no topping, or topped with strawberries and cream. The dish is named after the inventor of the cheesecake, Fletcher Whyte.

Etymology

References to “Whyte’s Cheesecake” existed until 1878 in print media, until the Albaland national newspaper The Evening Journal provided a Christmas recipe in its 10th of December edition calling the cake a Whyte Cheesecake. This is widely considered the first time the name changed from Whyte’s to Whyte, although prominent Alban etymologist Abigail Irvine’s main thesis of Alban language culture believes the name may have been shortened prior to that through semantic change within the English language.

In 1916, the published cookbook Treating your Husband by James Dawson called the cheesecake an Arduaine Cake which is the first known printed recipe not referring to the cake as a Whyte Cheesecake.

History

The cake originated in the suburb of Gilford, Arduaine. The true origins of the cake can be traced back to 1844, when local baker Fletcher Whyte sold the cheesecake at Christmas to the general public. The cake proved every successful and Whyte was forced to stop selling the cake in January of the following year as he couldn’t keep up with demand. With constant requests to make the cake again, Whyte opted to turn the recipe into a Christmas tradition, and by 1856 had “pop-up” bakeries located in Sandwick, Portgordon, Strathmiglo and Donibristle explicitly to make the cheesecake in time for customers at Christmas.

With Whyte’s ailing health due to a heart condition in the 1860s seeing him struggle to run the business, and no known children to help carry on the business, Whyte contacted the leader of Albaland at the time – an avid Whyte Cheesecake lover – Chieftain Stanley Bell and requested help to preserve the recipe. Bell brought the recipe into the Albaland National Assembly on the 17th of July 1863 who voted to turn the recipe into the national dish. It was mandated that bakers needed to apply for a special license in order to bake the cake and could only sell it during the months of November and December. In 1958, this was abolished, but bakers still need to apply for a permit to sell it.

Although the recipe is not a secret, the cake is considered of high cultural significance to the country of Albaland and the Alban people. Selling the cake without a permit is considered rude, and many international food chains and supermarkets have sold imitation versions of the cake, subtlety changing the recipe to not break the law because of a lack of a permit. These cakes are usually labelled a White Cheesecake or an Arduaine Pudding to prevent false advertising.

Recipe

Ingredients

Base

• 250 grams of Shortbread or Scotch Finger biscuits
• 125g (half a 260g block) of Butter

Filling

• 1 packet lime jelly crystals
• Half tsp gelatin crystals
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 375grms cream cheese (must be at room temp)
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence
• 375ml can evaporated milk (must be chilled)

Instructions

Base

1. Preheat oven 120 degrees.
2. Crush biscuits finely in a bowl (I did about three at a time and used the end of a rolling pin).
3. Melt butter in microwave for about 20 seconds.
4. Add butter to crushed biscuits and mix thoroughly.
5. Press into base and up the sides of cake tin (one with a release mechanism) and bake for 25 minutes. Put aside to cool completely before adding mixture.

Filling

Note –  Only start this once base is cooled so it can be poured directly into the base

1. Melt jelly crystals and gelatin powder in boiling water (just enough water to dissolve crystals, there is no single measurement for this, just add a bit at a time and stir) once done, mix in lime juice and put to side.
2. Beat the room temp cream cheese, castor sugar and vanilla until fluffy
3. Slowly add in jelly mixture
4. Add the chilled evaporated milk and continue to mix on low until slightly thickened (add more lime juice to taste if need be but should be ok)
5. Pour in mixture to base and chill for 8 hours. Overnight is best.