Mixed Berry Cheesecake

With some incredibly summery weather here at last, I wanted to make something that would complement the weather, rather than fight it. A cool, fruity cheesecake sprang to mind, so I played around a bit and came up with a Mixed Berry Cheesecake - a vanilla cheesecake marbled with raspberry and blueberry purées. This gives a lovely creamy, fruity cheesecake that would be perfect as a summer dessert.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients

165g digestive biscuits
60g butter, melted
675g full fat cream cheese
225g caster sugar
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
2 large eggs

For the fruit purées
100g raspberries
130g blueberries
2 tspns sugar
splash water

Preheat the oven to 140 Fan / 160 conventional / Gas 3. Lightly grease a 20cm (8 inch) springform or loose based tin.

First make the fruit purées by placing each fruit into it's own saucepan, along with 1 tspn of the sugar and a small splash of water. On a medium heat, bring to a simmer, and soften the fruit - you'll get to a stage where you should be able to mush them up.

Raspberries simmering

Continue to simmer until you get a reduced, thick syrupy purée. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Pass each purée through a sieve into a clean bowl, so that the seeds and with the blueberries, the skins, can be discarded. Put on one side to cool completely.

To make the base, crush the digestives finely in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and mix well. Pour into the prepared tin and press down, firmly and evenly, to form the cheesecake base. Put on one side.

To make the filling, place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until soft. Add the sugar and beat again until well mixed. Add the vanilla and then, one at a time, add the eggs and beat until smooth.

Spoon the filling into the crust and level the top. Dot the top with spoonfuls of each purée, alternating blueberry and raspberry. Using a knife, gently swirl through the purées and filling to created a marbled effect (be careful not to dig too deep to avoid disturbing the base).

Bake for about 30 minutes until the cheesecake becomes puffy around the edges but is still soft in the centre. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven (this will take some hours so plan ahead!). Chill in the fridge overnight, then carefully remove from the tin onto a plate.

Ideally, cheesecakes shouldn't crack, but mine did slightly following the lines the knife made creating the swirls. If you look closely at the picture you'll see what I mean. This didn't affect the taste, though.

Cut into slices and serve. If you have any of the purée left over, you could use it as extra sauce, if you want, drizzled over the cheesecake.

Enjoy,

Susie