A baked cheesecake is a surprisingly easy thing to make for such a delicious dessert. You always see cheesecakes on dessert menu’s and there’s a good reason for it. Who wouldn’t want something so sweet and creamy to finish off their meal?! And if there’s one certainty in this world then it’s that one can never have too much cheese! This baked berry #cheesecake is getting me in the mood for summer (even though it’s still raining here in Copenhagen as it has been since October!). Maybe pushing on with the summer baking will bring the good weather along quicker. This is my go-to baked cheesecake recipe here at ForGoodnessCake and it’s a very versatile one. I originally made this as a salted caramel cheesecake for my little brother’s birthday many years ago and it is a firm favourite. You can put pretty much any flavours you want with it so feel free to adapt this recipe for yourself (just remember to post what you make so I can give it a try too!). Alternatively, you can miss out the berry compote and do a classic baked vanilla cheesecake ‘New York’ style or make it as a topping rather than incorporating it into the cake itself. This time I have made a mixed berry compote consisting of raspberries, blackcurrant and strawberries. I actually cheated a bit and just bought a bag of frozen berries, but you can obviously do this with fresh fruit too. I also sieved mine to get the seeds out as I was drizzling it on top of the cake but if you are having it on the side then this isn’t necessary. Along with changing the toppings and flavours you can play around with different biscuits for your base too. Go wild! The recipe itself is dead easy. It looks like it will take a long time but before you look at that let me say that most of it is waiting for it to bake or cool and the actual work time is under 2 hours. It also freezes well so you can make it in advance and defrost it in the fridge overnight on the day before it’s needed. This recipe is enough to make 2 small (5 ½”) or one large (9”) cheesecake. If you want to avoid cracks in the top of your cheesecake cool it in the oven for a longer time. One thing I have found with the feathering is that you often get cracks along where the rings are, I personally don’t mind this, it just looks a bit more home made in my opinion! If you really don’t want cracks then perhaps incorporate your compote into the cake mixture or have it on the side to be safe.
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Electric whisk
Cake tin(s)- springform or silicone
Spatula
Spoon
Weighing scales
Rolling pin (or something to smash biscuits with!)
Baked Berry Cheesecake
Serves: 16-18
Prep: 20min (50min with compote) Baking time: 55mins Cooling: 2 ½ hours-overnight
Ingredients
Mixed Berry Compote
300g mixed berries
20g sugar
50 mL water
Cheesecake
For the base:
160g Digestive biscuits
90g butter
20g sugar
For the cheesecake:
900g cream cheese
150g caster/granulated sugar
115g icing sugar
20g plain flour
1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
Squeeze of lemon juice (~2 tsp)
250g crème fraiche
3 eggs
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/320F. Put a small tray with water in the bottom of your oven to create a little steam.
2. Make the berry compote by putting everything in a pan and heating over a low heat until some of the liquid has boiled away and you are left with a runny (but slightly thick) compote. You don’t have to add the sugar here but I put in just a little to take away the tartness of the blackcurrants. Be careful not to add too much or you will end up with a jam!
3. Whilst the compote is boiling away use a rolling pin to crush your biscuits of choice into fine crumbs and mix in the sugar.
4. Melt the butter in the microwave and add to the biscuit mix.
5. Line your cake tins with greaseproof paper and press down the biscuit mix to create a layer over the bottom of the tin.
6. Bake in the oven for 10min.
7. Whilst your base is baking, put all your ingredients (apart from the eggs) into a large mixing bowl and combine using the electric whisk.
8. Add your eggs and beat until just combined. At this stage I use a spatula to check I haven’t got any flour or sugar left at the bottom of the bowl or lumps in the mixture.
9. Pour the mixture into your cake tin (or split evenly across your tins if making two smaller cheesecakes).
10. Sieve the compote if desired and use a spoon to make 3 rings on the top of your mixture and a dot in the centre.
11. Using a cocktail stick, move from the centre of the dot to the edges to create a feathered effect on top of your cheesecake.
12. Bake in the oven for 55 mins.
13. Turn the oven off and allow to cool in the oven for 1-1 ½ hours.
14. Take out of the oven and cool completely at room temperature.
15. If you want a firmer texture, allow to cool in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
16. Et voilà! You have a decedent dessert just waiting to be eaten!
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