Bing's Blueberry Cheesecake

Photo: Bing

Ingredients

1 cup of digestive biscuits (about 8 biscuits)

1/2 cup almond flakes

1/2 cup melted butter

2 blocks of cream cheese (total 500g), left out of the fridge for a few hours to soften.

2 large eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons of blueberry jam

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Preparation

Updated on 16 Feb 2012 – My original blueberry cheesecake recipe has been here since 2010 because it’s one of my family favourites. It’s a great cheesecake recipe, but people usually can’t finish a large slice of it because it’s heavy and can get kind of je lak after a few mouthfuls of it.

I remember being in San Francisco in December 2011 and eating a slice of the Blueberry Cheesecake in Cheesecake Factory and thinking, Why isn’t my cheesecake like this? So flavourful, yet light and not too heavy.

I decided to modify my recipe. It turned out to be fabulous. Literally the best blueberry I’ve ever made. I served all my guests a huge slice and everyone finished every morsel. Success!

Try this recipe. This cheesecake is flavourful, not too sweet and soft in texture. I seriously love it.

Leftovers freeze really well. Simply thaw it when you next need a cheesecake treat!

Start by preheating oven to 160 deg Celsius (150 deg C if using a dark baking pan).

Place 120g (about 1/2 cup) of butter in a oven proof bowl.

Cover the bowl loosely with cling film wrap or use a microwave oven food cover. Microwave for 30 to 40 seconds at high till butter is melted.

Line the base of a 8 inch (20cm) springform pan with baking paper.

Butter the entire pan and the baking paper.

Use digestive biscuits for the base.

Place 11 to 13 digestive biscuits in a food processor.

Process till they become fine crumbs.

Place the crumbs in a large bowl and add the melted butter.

Stir well to combine.

Place the biscuits-butter mixture in the pan.

Using the flat base of a glass or a potato masher. Press hard to compress the crumbs tightly.

Add the 2 blocks of cream cheese (softened) to a cake mixer. The cream cheese must be very soft, so leave it out of the fridge in a warm place to soften before beating.

Add 1/2 cup sugar.

Add 2 extra large eggs. Total weight should be approximately 130g.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Add 3 tablespoons of sour cream.

Add 1/3 cup of fresh liquid cream.

Mix at low speed until well combined. Do not over beat as it would generate alot of air pockets in the cake and cause the cake to crack after baking.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.

Lift the pan and gently knock its base against the table counter top to release as much air as possible. If the air bubbles float up and are trapped at the surface, use a spatula to smoothen the surface and break the air bubbles.

Wrap the pan with aluminium foil and sit the cheese cake pan in a larger roasting pan.

Pour boiling water into the large roasting pan till the water reaches halfway of the cheesecake pan.

Place the pan into the oven for 50 mins. Do NOT open the oven door at any time. Else the cake can end up cracking.

Once cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and leave the cake inside to cool for 1 hour. Do NOT open the oven door.

After the cake has cooled, it should look pale and at most very lightly brown on top.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the blueberry topping.

Place 3 tablespoons of blueberry jam in a bowl and whisk it till it’s soft, light and slightly thick.

Spread the jam in an even layer on the cake.

Lay the fresh blueberries on top. My original recipe said to use frozen blueberries. Which are still fine to use. But I used FRESH blueberries in my latest attempt and it tasted even better and fresher. So I highly recommend using fresh blueberries.

Decorate with some mint leaves.

Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.