Denise says:

I don’t think an excuse is required to make cheese cake but it always nice to bring some culinary reference to a Jewish festival if possible. The story connected with cheese at Chanukah recalls the brave heroine, Yehudis, who helped save her people by slaying the vicious Greek general, Holofernes, (164 B.C.E.) with the help of a little cheese and alcohol ~ hence the cheese cake with rum!
Holofernes had brought the Jews of Bethulia to the brink of death by seizing the town's only spring of water. The people grew desperate as they began to weaken from thirst. The beautiful Yehudis stepped forward and asked to see Holofernes. Taken by Yehudis' loveliness and charm, Holofernes invited her to an evening banquet intending to seduce her. Yehudis brought a large wineskin to share with him. Charmingly, she plied him with salty cheeses, then as he grew more and more thirsty, offered him great quantities of wine to slake his thirst.
When Holofernes fell into a drunken stupor, Yehudis took his sword and cut off his head. When Holofernes' soldiers found his body, they were so demoralized that they fled in panic. The town of Bethulia was saved, along with the rest of Israel.

Serves: 8 – 10 people

Ingredients:

For the Base
180g digestive biscuits
75g melted margarine

Filling
100g raisins
4 tablespoons rum
900g medium fat cream cheese
100g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 eggs

Topping
3 small cartons sour cream ( 450ml)
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 tablespoon rum

Garnish
Vanilla sugar and a bunch of grapes

Method

1)Pre-heat the oven to 170 C/ 325 F/ Gas mark 3.
2)Using a food processor, combine the biscuits and melted margarine so that they are well crushed together.
3)Transfer to a lined loose based 26 cm cake tin and chill.
4)Place the raisins in a dish. Pour in the rum and cover with cling film. Put in the microwave for 2 minutes for the flavours to diffuse together.
5)Put the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and salt into the mixer to beat together. Stir in the raisins and rum.
6)Transfer to the prepared cake tin. Bake for 50 minutes or until set.
7)Mix the sour cream and sugar and pour over the cake. Return to the oven for a final 15 minutes.
8)Allow to cool completely with the door slightly ajar.

To serve the stylish way: Dust the plate with some vanilla sugar and a bunch of grapes.
Tagged in: Ashkenazi, Chanukah, Cheese, Dairy, Desserts, Family Cooking, Raisins, Shabbat, Shavuot, Tea