Baked Cherry cheesecake

Preparing for a party, I thought about resurrecting my favourite Nigella's no bake blueberry cheesecake. It involves 2 packets of cream cheese, an 8" pan, and a bottle of Dalfour's blueberry jam. I came across RecipeTinEats' baked Strawberry Cheesecake which is very similar except that it's baked and uses sour cream rather than whipping cream. The most difficult part is probably making the berry sauce which is optional. I used a package of frozen cherries which I had in the freezer so presentation-wise, it'll be less pretty than using fresh fruit but the effect is the same.

Ingredients for base

200g sweet biscuits (I used malt biscuits which in a 220g packet; this includes enough crust to go up the side of the tin)

120g butter, melted (I used 150g because I had 220g biscuits)

Method for base

1. Prepare the 8" springform tin. Turn the base upside down so that there's no lip. Add the parchment and clip the base. Butter the sides of the tin and line with parchment.

2. Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Alternatively, use a ziplock and bash away.

3. Once there is a fine crumb, drizzle in the melted butter. It should resemble sand.

4. Pour into the prepared tin. Use a spatula to press down. Using a glass or measuring cup, press down firmly on the base and against the wall of the tin. The crumb mixture should go up ¾ of the wall of the tin.

5. Cover and leave the base in the fridge to harden slightly.

Ingredients for filling

500g cream cheese (2 packs of Philly), room temp

2 tbsp plain four

1 tsp vanilla extract

½C sour cream

1½C caster sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

Method for filling

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth, 20s on Speed 4. (Don't introduce air otherwise the surface will crack)

2. Add flour, beat for 5 seconds at Speed 4.

3. Add extract, sour cream, sugar, zest; 10s on Speed 5.

4. Add eggs one at a time, no more than 5s each on Speed 5. Beat until eggs are just blended.

5. Pour into prepared base. 

6. Bake in a pre-heated oven 150 deg C in fan forced (convection but no top and bottom grills) for 55 minutes until the top is just set. The sides will be set but the centre will have a slight wobble. 

7. Turn off the oven but leave it inside for another 10 minutes, then open the door 20 cm and let it cool down for 30 minutes in the oven with door ajar. Take it out to totally cool down.

8. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Method for berry sauce

500g of a berry (strawberries, blueberries, etc. I used cherries which are in season; fresh or frozen)

2 tbsp water or lemon juice (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)

½ C sugar (can reduce but a few tbsp depending on sweetness of the fruit)

2 tsbp water for slurry

1½ tsp corn starch for slurry

Method for sauce

1. Roughly cut up half the fruit and halve the other half of the fruit. If using frozen fruit, thaw them. It may be difficult to halve or cut the fruit without it falling apart so omit this step.

2. Pour the fruit and 2 tbsp of water into a saucepan. Pour in the sugar and mix.

3. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to prevent the mixture burning at the bottom.

4. Make the slurry by mixing corn starch and water. Continue stirring the slurry. Stir the mixture and drizzle in the slurry. Once thickened, turn off the fire. Set aside to cool and the refrigerate. It will thicken up slightly once chilled in the fridge.

Assembly

Take out the chilled cheesecake. Pour the sauce on top. If the sauce is not of a pouring consistency, add just add a touch of water (½ tsp at a time) just to loosen it. It should dribble down the side but not drench it.

Feedback

- Turning the bottom upside down was fine except the butter melted and seeped out! Was not expecting that! Perhaps using digestives might have helped as they are more 'absorbent' than the malt biscuits I used.

- I found the sugar in the cherry sauce way too sweet! It was good for entertaining as people tend to like sweet desserts but not for home consumption. Might have to add, taste, then add more if needed next time.