Thursday, September 19, 2013

blueberry cheesecake

People, calm down.

I swore I would not write another post on cheesecakes for a while.

But, sadly, I could not help myself.

Not when the cake looks like this.


Not impressed yet?

Ok, try this.


It is just obscenely good-looking isn't it?

Oh, can I say that? Obscenely good-looking? It sort of sounds oxymoronic to me.

It matters not, as it is a gorgeous cake.

I like it because it is easy to make. And fast too. Which are all good things when it comes to cheesecakes.

I took this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, and made a few changes. I did not have any vanilla wafers, so I took the recipe for the base from Nigella Lawson, THE domestic goddess herself, and modified that to suit my cake instead.

To start, I blitzed digestive biscuits in a food processor.


Until they resembled crumbs.


Into this, I added melted butter.


And blitzed again. What I ended up with looked like wet bread crumbs.


This was poured into a lined and greased Springform pan.


And pressed down with a flat device. (I used my rice measuring cup.)


And this went into the fridge to chill while I got on with the rest of the cake.

In a mixing bowl, I added cream cheese. I used the paddle attachment of my mixer to loosen it up a little before adding sugar.


And the mixture was beaten until it became smooth.


Then the eggs were added, one at a time, and beaten.


I added sour cream, vanilla extract, the zest and juice of the lemon (not pictured) and beat that too.


I poured this into the Springform pan.


And baked it.


In the meantime, I made a blueberry compote, since I was not able to find any blackberries.

The pictures for how to make that can be found here.

And once the cake had been cooled somewhat, I poured the compote on the cake.


And chilled the cake over-night.


It truly is a beauty.


Is it not? :P

RECIPE
Blueberry Cheesecake (Serves 8-10)
Recipe for base adapted from "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson; Recipe for cheesecake adapted from The Pioneer Woman; Recipe for blueberry compote adapted from Allrecipes

Note: This recipe makes a 9" cake. 

Ingredients:
For the base:
170g digestive biscuits
85g unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:
24oz cream cheese
1-1/2 cup Sugar - I used 3/4 cup
4 whole eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

For the blueberry compote:
2 punnets fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tbs corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Zest of 1 lemon

Method:
For the base:
1. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor (or place in a clean tea towel and bash with a rolling pin) until crumbly.
2. Add melted butter.
3. Process (or stir with a wooden spoon) again until you get wet crumbs.
4. Press onto the bottom of a greased and lined Springform pan.
5. Place in fridge to chill.

For the cake:
1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Add sour cream and mix again. Pour mixture into crust, smooth the top, and bake at 170C for 1 hour, 10 minutes. 4. Turn off oven and open door and allow to sit in the oven with the door opened for 15 minutes.
5. Remove and allow to cool.

For the blueberry compote:
1. In a small saucepan combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest and water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently until boiling.
2. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and without breaking the berries- carefully stir it in. Cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat, stirring until sauce is thick.
3. Sauce will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

I am submitting this recipe for Cook like a Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy KidsYen from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake.







9 comments:

  1. That blueberry compote flowing down the cake... Major food porn! :D

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  2. Thanks Shar Kay!! I love your chocolate cake! So sweet that you made it for your hb :)

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  3. Love the cake and your cake stand; cannot make up my mind which I like better!

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  4. The compote really makes this #cakeporn! Love it flowing down the cake in the 2nd pic.

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  5. Ok ok ok Diana... let me calm down and eat your cheesecake... and I will feel better :p

    Zoe

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  6. This is such a beautiful cheesecake. Love how the compote is flowing down... would love to have a slice.

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