blackberry | theflourmill

This summer the berries were the juiciest and sweetest I have had! Late onset of summer had some benefits I guess. The shops were full of fresh blackberries and I could not resist using them for a cheesecake. I was packing a goodie box for my brother who always complains he never gets to eat any of my baked stuff,not my fault- he lives in a different country. Considering I have been baking (or for that matter cooking) for the last few years only and that my brother and I have been on different continents for most of our adult lives now, there have been very few opportunities for me to indulge his sweet tooth. Every time we are home- which usually is with our parents, we spend all our time trying to annoy each other rather than trying to show our newly acquired culinary skills! Plus I get to take a break from even entering the kitchen and am pampered by my mom’s cooking. So, as I was saying, I was preparing a goodie box for my now grown up little brother , I would have loved to send him some of this cheesecake except I think it would not survive a trans-Atlantic courier so I had settled to send more sturdy items like brownies and cookies instead.

This is a fantastic cheesecake recipe, it is not overly sweet, has a tang of the blackberries, it sets really well and looks great too- ideal for a party or a big dinner.

For the base: 1/2 cup of plain digestive biscuits and ½ cup of gingernut biscuits which have been whizzed in a food processor to crumbs. Alternatively, put the biscuits in a strong freezer bag or a tea towel and beat the hell out of it with a rolling pin. Add to it a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of granulated sugar (optional) and 2 tbsp of melted unsalted butter. Mix all the ingredients together. Line a 10” x 8” rectangular baking tin (or any shape you want but of similar capacity) with foil, keeping a bit of an overhang on two sides so that it is easy to take out the cheesecake once baked. Grease the foil lightly with butter. I usually us a round cake tin with removable base which I would cover with foil on the outside to stop the water from penetrating the cake tin when I bake my cheesecake in a water bath. I always use a water bath to bake cheesecakes, they bake much more evenly, there is less chance of cracking, and the texture is very smooth and moist. Press down the biscuit mixture in the baking tin (I use a ramekin bottom to press it down; you can use the same or a spatula). Bake the base for 10 minutes at 160˚C. Then leave it outside to cool while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:

450 g of full fat cream cheese (the kind of cheese you use makes a huge difference in the texture and taste of your cheesecake. I always try and use Philadelphia full fat cheese.
170 g granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream at room temperature
3 medium size eggs at room temperate
1 ½ tsp vanilla paste (or you can use vanilla extract instead)
2 tbsp plain flour

For the blackberry sauce:

About a punnet and half of fresh blackberries which is approximately 200 g. Keep a handful aside to put them in cheesecake. Put the rest of the blackberries in a saucepan along with 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar. On medium heat, stir the blackberries, squishing them and stewing them till a thick sauce is formed. Puree in a blender and pass through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. The sauce should be thick and smooth but not lumpy. It should not be too runny either or it will sink in the cheesecake filling when you try to create the swirls. I squeeze couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to the blackberry sauce as I like it really sharp so this is optional.

To make the cheesecake:

Beat the cheese and sugar with a hand mixer or using a spatula till the mixture is smooth and light. This takes 3-5 minutes.
Add sour cream and mix till smooth.
Add in the vanilla paste and mix. Add the eggs one at a time and mix. Do not overbeat the eggs.
Now stir in the flour and mix till it is incorporated.
Pour the batter onto the prepared base. You can cut the remaining blackberries in half and push them into the filling.
Now put drops of the blackberry sauce all over the cheesecake filling. You will use only a few teaspoon worth of the sauce and keep the rest to serve alongside the cheesecake.
Run a skewer across the drops of blackberry sauce to create the swirls.
Preheat the oven. Place a baking tray with raised edges in the middle of the oven and place the baking tin containing cheesecake batter on the tray. Now pour hot water on the tray. Bake for 30-40 minutes till the middle of the cheesecake is slightly wobbly. Top up the water in baking tray during the baking. The reason for baking the cheesecake in a water bath is so that the cheesecake is evenly baked, it lowers the baking temperature so the cheesecake remains moist and creamy and the top of the cheesecake stops from cracking. Mid way through baking check if the top of the cheesecake is getting too brown, if so , then lightly cover with a piece of foil taking care that it does not touch the top of the cheesecake.
Once baked, cool the cheesecake on a wire rack. After about half an hour or so, run a knife around the edges and then leave to cool completely before keeping it in the fridge to let rest for 3-4 hours or best overnight.
To cut the cheesecake with clean edges, dip the knife in hot water, wipe and cut.