Wild Blueberry Cheesecake

Bakingyummies


Uhh Cheesecake! Do you know how delicious a cheesecake tastes? Of course you do. That creamy, soft texture just draws you towards itself. When it melts in your mouth.....oh heaven!



This Wild Blueberry Cheesecake is my husband's absolute favorite. But for me, every time I eat a slice and then more and more slices of this yummy cheesecake, it becomes difficult to pick a favorite, Simple and Luscious Cheesecake that I had made a few weeks back? No, I think this blueberry one..and my mind battle continues.


I've made a blueberry cheesecake a couple of times before, using the regular blueberries and topping them with the cream cheese mixture. Though it has always turned out very tasty, I kept thinking that it could be more tasty if it would have a little more blueberry punch without the flavor being overpowering. Last week when I made a jar of Wild Blueberry Preserve and tasted it, I knew this was that something extra I was looking for.


And so my dear friends, I present you this four layered cheesecake. The digestive biscuits comprise the first layer, followed by a layer of wild blueberries. Third one is the cream cheese followed by a final layer of the Wild Blueberry Preserve.


One bite of this wonderful cheesecake and you will be lost in blueberry paradise. You can taste the tangy blueberry preserve, the creamy, silky and smooth cream cheese and the teeny wild blueberries. What more can you ask for?

Recipe Source: Bakingyummies
Note: Though I've used wild blueberries for this recipe, you can use the regular blueberries as well.

Makes one 8 inch cheesecake.

Ingredients:
For the Biscuit Base
120 grams / 4 ounces hi-fibre digestive biscuits
45 grams / 1.5 ounces unsalted melted butter
1+1/2 tablespoons caster sugar

For the Cream Cheese Mixture
2 packets (454 grams / 16 ounces) full fat Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature
205 grams / 7 ounces caster sugar or superfine sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
50 grams / 2 ounces Crème Fraîche at room temperature

Wild / Regular Blueberries enough to cover the biscuit base
3 to 4 tablespoons Wild Blueberry Preserve

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Butter sides of an 8 inch spring form pan and line the base with parchment paper.

In a food processor or a grinder, pulse the biscuits to fine crumbs. Take out 2 tablespoons of the crumbs and use them to dust the sides of the spring form pan. Add the melted butter and the 1+1/2 tablespoons caster sugar to the remaining crumbs and pulse until the mixture comes together. Press this mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan and bake for 10 to 15 mins or until golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool.


Reduce the oven temperature to 165 degrees C. Keep a pan full of water on low flame. In a stand mixer on medium speed with the paddle attachment, process the cream cheese till it is soft and creamy(1-2 mins).


Reduce the speed to low. Add sugar and beat until combined. Scrape the bowl as and when required. Add the eggs and beat until well mixed. Add salt, vanilla extract and Crème Fraîche and beat for 1-2 mins.


Scrape the bowl and beat until smooth and thoroughly mixed.

Wrap the spring form pan till the edges thoroughly with aluminium foil(I wrap the pan twice till the edge for extra protection). Keep the pan in a roasting dish. Tip in enough blueberries in the pan so that the biscuit base is covered. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pan. Run a knife through the mixture slowly a couple of times to eliminate any air bubbles taking care that you don't stir the blueberries.


Fill the roasting dish with the boiling water till it reaches about halfway up the pan. Place the roasting dish in the oven and bake the cheesecake till the center of the cheesecake jiggles a little when the pan is shaken slightly(about 45 mins to an hour). Switch off the oven and let the cake be in the oven for about half an hour.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool and as soon as you can handle it, say about 5 mins later, remove the aluminium foil and let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once the cake is cooled, say 5-6 hours later, loosely place a tissue on top of the pan, place a cling film or an aluminium foil on top of the tissue. Secure the tissue and the cling film to the pan with a rubber band. Keep the covered pan in the refrigerator for at least 5 to 6 hrs or preferably overnight.

Once you want to eat the cheesecake, take it out from the refrigerator, remove the clingfilm or the foil and the tissue. Now run a knife or a spatula along the edges of the cheesecake. Carefully and slowly, remove the side of the pan. Spread the cheesecake with the Blueberry Preserve.

To slice the cheesecake, dip a sharp knife in warm water, pat it dry with a tissue or a cloth and cut through the cheesecake. Before you use the knife again, dip it again in the warm water and pat dry to clean. Repeat this process each time you use the knife. The reason we do this is to give each slice a clean look, otherwise you will have the cream cheese clinging to the knife and messing up the slices.

Enjoy your home made Blueberry laden Cheesecake.

Cheesecake will keep well in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days.

A couple of things to take care of: 1. While preparing the cream cheese batter, do not over-mix it at any stage. Over-mixing creates air bubbles in the batter leading to holes and cracks in your baked cheesecake.

2. The reason a cheesecake is baked in a water bath is because it solves two purposes, first, it stops the cake from having a dry texture due to the moisture from the water thereby giving you a silky and velvety texture and second, the water helps to maintain a constant temperature in the oven so that the cheesecake bakes evenly greatly reducing the chances of cracks on the cheesecake's surface.

Happy Baking!!!


8 comments

  1. How about re-writing the recipe with ingredients that people can actually find in the grocery store.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous,
      I stay in a country that has not woken up entirely to baking yet. So I ensure that the ingredients mentioned in my recipes like eggs(chicken), sugar, biscuits, salt, butter, cream and even cream cheese are easily available. Please read the write up carefully and you'll know some pretty easily available substitutions as well.

      Delete
  2. This is not only gorgeous but yummy and delicious cake. You have explained it so nicely with soft language. I have gathered necessary ingredients and give it a try on weekend. I prefer classic best indian food recipes and practicing at home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the compliment. I would love to know how it turned out for you and thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Beautiful photography! I hope to make this recipe this weekend, I'll let you know how it comes out! Also, I believe Anonymous problem is he/she is from the U.S. and doesn't realize other countries label ingredients differently. Caster sugar is powdered sugar for instance (sometimes labeled Baker's Sugar). Also, a lot of bakers in America use sour cream instead of Creme Fraiche, cut CF is still better. Other than that, everything is READILY available in any supermarket.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Patrick, I'll pass on your compliment to my husband..he's the one behind the photography. I would love to know how this cheesecake turned out for you. Yes you're right, ingredients are labelled differently in countries. We use caster sugar because the granulated sugar available here generally has large granules which is not advisable for baking. If granulated sugar having small granules is available at your end, please use that instead. Btw, caster sugar is also known as superfine sugar if that helps. Creme Fraiche is in fact made from cream so it can be easily and successfully replaced by sour cream, though I'll take care to mention this in my future posts. Thanks once again Patrick.

      Delete
  4. ñaaaammmy, it sounds delicious! :D
    I'll try this recipe but I want to replace biscuit in the crust and use Oreos and margarine :D
    From Perú (South america)
    Andrea ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've recently started using Oreos as biscuit base for my cheesecakes and I must say it tastes absolutely delicious.

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