baked blueberry cheesecake

baked blueberry cheesecake

• 27 Feb 2023

I've had this cheesecake recipe bookmarked for a while now. As you know, I'm not a fan of crumb crusts so when I saw this blueberry cheesecake had a baked pastry case, I was in. I really like my almond shortcrust pastry recipe, so I used that to make the pastry shell but adapted the filling recipe to fit my little tin.

Unfortunately, I had a few problems with the filling. I used 500g cheese but changed the ratios of cream cheese to ricotta cheese (to reflect what I had in my fridge), but I don't think that was the problem. The filling was very, very runny and I think the added rum plus the juices from the blueberries were to blame. I knew the blueberries would sink to the bottom while the cheesecake baked but didn't anticipate that the lattice pastry topping would end up submerged. The unbaked lattice looked really pretty so that was a bit disappointing. Next time I make the cheesecake, I'd skip the lattice and drain and flour the blueberries before adding them to the filling.

Here's the recipe for the cheesecake which can be made the day ahead and refrigerated. The pastry recipe is my own but the filling was adapted from a Neil Perry and Richard Purdue recipe I found online. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Baked blueberry cheesecake - makes a 17cm cheesecake.

Almond shortcrust pastry
110 g (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup icing sugar (40g)
¼ cup (30g) almond meal
1⅓ cups (200g) plain flour

pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cold water
1 extra egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

Ingredients
250 g cream cheese, softened
70 g (1/3 cup) caster sugar 
1 tbs plain flour 
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk at room temperature
250 g soft fresh ricotta, well drained
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum 
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
125 gm blueberries, macerated overnight in 1 tbsp caster sugar
Icing sugar, for dusting

Method
To make the pastry, combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor, and whiz for a few seconds until well combined and free of lumps. Add the cold butter and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and sufficient cold water and whiz until a soft dough just starts to form around the blade. Remove the dough from the food processor and gather the pastry into a ball; flatten slightly before wrapping in plastic and placing in the fridge. Refrigerate the pastry for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 160°C, conventional. Grease a 17cm springform tin. Cut off ⅓ of the dough and roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface to fit the base of the spring-form tin. Using a rolling pin, drape the pastry over the base cutting it to fit. Divide the remaining pastry in half and roll out one half thinly on a lightly floured surface. Use this half to line the sides of the tin leaving a little overhang. Using your fingers, gently press dough up the side of the tin, trim excess dough with a knife and discard. Refrigerate the pastry case until needed.

Roll out the other half of the dough on a lightly floured work surface until 4mm thick and 20cm round, then cut into 14 x 1cm-wide strips (using a fluted pastry wheel, if you have one). Place pastry strips on a tray lined with baking paper, brush strips with a little of the extra beaten egg and chill until needed.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the cheese is smooth. Add the egg followed by the yolk, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add ricotta, vanilla extract, rum and citrus zests and mix until just combined. Crush blueberries lightly with a fork and then add blueberries and macerating juices. Spoon filling into pastry case and level surface with an offset spatula. Carefully arrange the pastry strips over the top in a lattice pattern, then trim excess pastry.

Bake the cheesecake until the filling is just set and pastry is golden (1¼ hours), (I increased the temperature to 180°C for the final 15 minutes) covering the top with foil if it is over-browning. Transfer the cheesecake to a wire rack and cool in tin for 25 minutes, before unclipping the side to finish cooling completely. To serve, dust with icing sugar and cut into wedges.

The recipe might not have gone quite to plan but the cheesecake still tasted lovely. 

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now, 

Jillian