Right, it’s official, cheesecake is H is for Home’s favourite cake!
It’s by far, the most baked Cakes & Bakes entry.
This week, lemon & blueberry cheesecake joins the ranks.
I’ve used Hobnobs instead of the usual digestive biscuits for the base. Frozen blueberries are available in the supermarket all year round and at a fraction of the price of fresh.
Home-made cheesecake isn’t difficult. The secret is cooking it long & low. Wrapping the tin with foil and placing it in a water bath (bain-marie) makes sure it cooks properly all the way through without burning. You want the slightest browning of the top.
It feels like a very indulgent cake… but I know the blueberries count as one of your 5-a-day. It leaves just one question, do the lemons make it two?
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Lemon & blueberry cheesecake
Ingredients
for the base
- 200 g/7oz Hobnobs
- 75 g/3oz butter melted
for the filling
- 500 g/17½oz cream cheese
- 350 g/12oz blueberries fresh or frozen
- 3 lemons zest & juice
- 200 g/7oz caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150 ml/5fl oz sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
- Grease the sides of a 20cm/8-inch spring-form cake tin
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter
- In a food processor, add the Hobnobs and grind to a fine crumb
- Add the ground biscuits to the butter and combine
- Empty the mixture into the base of the tin and smooth the surface evenly using the back of a tablespoon
- Bake the base for about 15 minutes then set aside to cool while you make the cake mixture
- Zest & juice the lemons. Set aside
- In the food processor you used to crumb the biscuit, add half the blueberries and lemon juice and purée
- In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl if doing it by hand) add the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar and mix thoroughly
- Gently whisk the eggs in a measuring jug before adding them to the cheese mixture in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition
- Add the puréed blueberry & lemon juice mixture followed by the lemon zest, making sure it's well incorporated
- Boil a kettleful of water
- Before pouring the cheesecake mixture into the tin, wrap the tin in foil to make it water tight
- Put the tin into an oven tray (at least 5cm/1-inch deep)
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the tin and put the oven tray & cake into the preheated oven
- Fill the oven tray to about ½cm/¼-inch below the rim with the boiled water
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes
- When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door ajar
- When completely cool, top with the other half of the blueberries and put in the fridge
