Blueberry Cheesecake

I love eating cheesecake, especially those that are dense and rich. To me, to be able to bake a proper cheesecake is a mile stone in baking. Though the baking process is not as complicated as other types of cakes, cheesecakes somehow has more ‘commercial value’ and ‘luxury factor’ than other cakes like chiffon or sponge which require more technique and experience.

I got this recipe from the first ever baking class I attended. The instructor taught us 3 recipes: banana cake, chocolate brownie and blueberry cheesecake. Unfortunately, the banana cake and brownie were below par. We didn’t even finish the samples brought home from the class. The cheesecake on the other hand was quite good, creamy with tinge of lemon taste.

I quartered the cheesecake recipe (yes, ¼ only!) as an experiment, and baked in 4.5” pan. It turned out good, so I did it again the following week using full-scale recipe.

Blueberry Cheesecake

(adapted from: a baking class I attended)   

Yield: 9” inch cake   

Crumb Base

• 200g crushed digestive biscuits
• 25g granulated white sugar
• 113g unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9” springform cake pan.

2. Melt butter and sugar in small saucepan until mixture starts to boil.

3. Turn off fire and immediately pour in digestive biscuit. Stir until well combined.

4. Press mixture onto bottom of pan. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.

Cheese layer

• 500g cream cheese, room temperature
• 150g castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 50g all-purpose flour, sifted
• 100g whipped cream (lightly whipped)

1.  Beat cream cheese until soften. Add half amount of sugar and beat for 1 minute. Add remaining half and beat until creamy and smooth.

2.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy. Add lemon juice and beat for few seconds.

3.  Add in flour and beat for about 1 minute. Finally add in whipped cream and beat for 20 seconds. Do not overbeat at this point. Pour batter onto biscuit crumb base.

4. Bake in a water bath for about 55-60 minutes.

5. Once done, turn off the oven. Leave the cheese cake in oven with door ajar for 10 minutes. Then, remove from oven (and water bath) and run a thin knife carefully around the edges to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Leave near the oven (eg stove top) for 1 hour and somewhere cooler (countertop) for another hour. Store in fridge for at least 24 hours before serving.

Blueberry topping

• 210g frozen blueberry
• 40g fine granulated sugar
• ½ tablespoon butter
• ½ tablespoon lemon
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

1. Combine all ingredients in small saucepan under medium heat.

2. Simmer, and cook until berries break down.

3. Cool before using. Pour on top of chilled cheese cake, and decorate border with whipped cream.

Tips

• Crush biscuits in small plastic bag with a rolling pin – but not too finely, as it's nice to have a fairly uneven texture.
• To get aromatic crumb layer, it is important to have the butter & sugar mixture starting to boil, before you add the crushed biscuits.
• Use flat-glass bottom to press biscuit crumbs onto the pan bottom.
• To prevent water from seeping into the springform pan, wrap aluminum foil completely around the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan.
• Ensure cream cheese is at room temperature. Cold cream cheese will result in lumpy cheesecake. Also, using cold cream cheese will also lead to overbeating and hence, incorporation of too much air into the batter.
• For the water bath, use a roasting pan with at least 2” gap on both sides of the cake pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until at least halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
• A cheesecake never looks done when it's done. A properly cooked cheesecake will still have a wobbly 2 – 3” circle in the center. It should look set and firm, but still jiggly. The whole top should move like one semi-solid piece. There may also be some tiny dry cracks at the edge.
• To unmold, run knife around the edges before you un-clamp the springform pan.

Future improvements

• My cheesecake was slightly overcooked. It did not jiggle when I turn off the oven. How sad! Still taste good though, but a little hard. Will need to monitor baking time more closely the next time.
• Water seeped through the springform in my experiment batch. I used 2 layers of aluminum foil the 2^nd round. Also, I learnt from another baker to mold the aluminum foil from bottom, i.e. pan facing down to prevent tear in the foil.
• Blueberry filling is slightly too runny, it seeps through the sides. Probably need to add more corn starch to thicken it up.                                                 

I serve this cake for dad and aunty LC’s birthday, and yes, it is affirmative that rich, dense cheesecakes do have “wow factors” that other cakes don’t. Glad dad enjoyed it!

© copyright fiddling with recipe 2011