Vanilla Cheesecake with Fruit Topping
This is a super easy baked Vanilla Cheesecake with a fruit topping of strawberries and blueberries. It sits on a crunchy biscuit base and the vanilla cheesecake filling is super smooth and velvety, with a gentle hint of lemon. The fruity sauce topping sets it off perfectly.
Unbaked cheesecake recipes, such as my Cheesecake Mojito and Salted Caramel Cheesecake, benefit from being quick and easy and are absolutely delicious.
The beauty of a baked cheesecake, however, is that it has a more traditional cheesecake texture. It is both creamy and silky smooth, and the eggs give it a flavour and texture that you simply don't get with an unbaked cheesecake.
And it is easy to make.
I used to assume baked cheesecake was hugely difficult and involved baking in water, steaming, and generally being time-consuming and fussy, but it really is none of those things.
The only thing you really need to factor in is to make it the day before and refrigerate it overnight. It's really worth doing this as the cheesecake sets into the perfect texture.
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Why make this Vanilla Cheesecake with Fruit Topping?
Traditional smooth and creamy texture✔️
Vanilla and a hint of lemon flavourings ✔️
Crunchy biscuit base✔️
Zingy fruit topping✔️
Stylish yet simple✔️
Ingredients and Substitutions
See the Recipe card below for the exact quantities
- Digestive biscuits (Graham crackers for those in the U.S.)
You can use any digestives, but I prefer the texture and flavour of branded digestives. - Unsalted butter
As the digestives are quite high in salt, I prefer to use unsalted butter, but you can substitute it with salted butter. - Demerara sugar (optional)
I like the caramel undertones of demerara sugar, granulated white sugar or brown sugar are both fine as substitutes. - Cream cheese
I find that full-fat Philadelphia makes the best cheesecakes, whether baked or not, but any cream cheese can be used. - Golden caster sugar (superfine sugar if in the U.S.)
Has a slight caramel flavour; however, it can be replaced with white caster sugar.
- Plain flour
A little flour is added to give the cheesecake filling structure so that it does not collapse, and it also thickens it. - Lemon zest and juice
To give a hint of lemon to the cheesecake - Vanilla bean paste
This gives a more intense vanilla flavour to the cheesecake and also speckles it with vanilla; it can be substituted with vanilla extract. - Large eggs
These give the Vanilla Cheesecake filling its custardy and silky texture. - Crème fraiche
Can be replaced with sour cream. - Frozen fruits and fresh strawberries
I use frozen fruits for the majority of the fruit sauce cheesecake topping, as they are a bit cheaper and the water content reduces to give a jammy texture. You can, however, use whatever fruits you like. - Granulated sugar
Any sugar will be fine, it is just added to sweeten the fruits - Cornflour (corn starch if in the U.S.)
Used to thicken the fruit sauce.
Instructions
See Recipe card for exact instructions.
Either blitz your digestives and sugar into crumbs using a food processor or place them into a food bag, seal it and hit them with something like a rolling pin. Then mix them into melted butter.
Line a 20cm springform cake tin and tip the digestive crumb mixture in. Press down tightly to compact. Bake for 10 minutes and then leave to cool.
Mix your cream cheese, caster sugar and flour together briefly until smooth. You can do this using a food processor or by hand.
Add in your vanilla bean paste, lemon zest and lemon juice and briefly beat together.
Add your pre-beaten eggs and beat until just incorporated. Keep wiping down the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the mixture from the sides mixes in.
Briefly beat in your crème fraiche until no lumps remain and the mixture is smooth.
Tip onto your cooled biscuit base and bake for 10 minutes, then turn your oven down and bake for another 40-45 minutes. Once the cheesecake has just started to colour at the sides but still has a wobble in the middle, it is ready. Shut the oven door and leave for 2 hours to set.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Wrap the cheesecake, still in the tin, in foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or preferably overnight.
To make your fruit coulis, add your frozen fruits, sugar and lemon juice to a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat to a rolling boil and boil for 7 minutes. Add cornflour mixed with water to thicken the sauce.
Leave the sauce to completely cool and then spread it over your vanilla cheesecake. Cut up some fresh strawberries and decorate.
Storage
This Vanilla Cheesecake with Fruit Topping will keep covered and refrigerated for 5 days.
Top Tips when making a baked cheesecake
Be careful not overbeat
Overbeating will affect the texture of vanilla cheesecake filling. Therefore, when mixing, beat only until the ingredients are just incorporated. I usually mix a little with my KitchenAid and then mix by hand, making sure to scrape in the mixture from the sides of the bowl and the base.
Leave to cool in the oven for 2 hours
As baked vanilla cheesecake is quite creamy and custardy, allowing it to set in a closed oven for a couple of hours is vital to get the right texture.
Once cooled, cover in foil and refrigerate for 4-12 hours to set
This allows the cream cheese to reset and gives your cheesecake a velvety and creamy texture. leave it overnight for the best results.
Use a spring-form cake tin
This allows you to easily remove the cheesecake from the tin.
FAQ
The centre third of your cheesecake should wobble gently when ready, and the top of the cheesecake will be just very slightly coloured around the edges. If a large section still wobbles, continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Once the wobble is right, shut the oven door and leave the cheesecake to cool for 2 hours. Remove, leave to fully cool and then wrap in foil and refrigerate for a few hours, or preferably overnight.
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📖 Recipe
Vanilla Cheesecake with Fruit Topping
Here's what you'll need...
- 20cm Spring-form cake tin
- Stand or hand mixer with beater fitted however can be made by hand using wooden spoon or balloon whisk
- Large saucepan
Ingredients you'll need...
Cheesecake Biscuit Base
- 250 g Digestive biscuits preferably a good brand
- 120 g Unsalted butter
- 20 g Demerara sugar or white or brown sugar
Vanilla Cheesecake Filling
- 560 g Philadelphia cream cheese equates to 2 tubs, needs to be at room temperature
- 250 g Golden caster sugar
- 45 g Plain flour
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice equates to juice of 1 average lemon
- 1½ teaspoon Lemon zest equates to zest of 1 average lemon
- 4 Large eggs - use 3 eggs and 1 yolk lightly beaten and at room temperature
- 425 ml Crème fraiche at room temperate
Fruit Topping
- 400 g Bag of frozen mixed fruits I used strawberries and blueberries
- 50 g Granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice must be fresh
- 2 tablespoon Cornflour
- 2 tablespoon Cold water
Here's what we do...
Cheesecake Biscuit Base
- Heat your over to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 4/355°F.
- Line the base of your cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Place your digestive biscuits and demerara sugar into your stand mixer and blitz into crumbs. Or you can put then in a food bag, seal and smash with a rolling pin.
- Melt your butter slowly in your saucepan over a low heat (so that none evaporates) and then mix in your biscuit crumb mixture. I find using a fork works well to do this.
- Tip your biscuit crumb mixture into your lined tin and press down so that it is tightly compacted. I find using a potato masher works well to flatten it all out.
- Bake the base for 10 minutes and then leave to fully cool. (Rather than baking you can set the base by refrigerating it for 30 minutes instead if you prefer).
Vanilla Cheesecake Filling
- Turn your oven up to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7/430°F.
- With the beater attachment fitted, beat your cream cheese a few times just to ensure smooth.
- Add your sugar and flour and beat briefly on a low setting until just incorporated. (I tend to beat a few times and then mix by hand to get the mixture from the sides and base incorporated.)
- Beat in your vanilla bean paste, lemon juice and lemon zest, again keep the beating on a low setting and as brief as you can.
- Add your beaten eggs and beat in on the same low setting until incorporated. I tend to beat briefly then stop and wipe down the sides of the bowl and then mix in a a little by hand before finishing with one last short beat to be sure the eggs are fully mixed in.
- Finally, briefly beat in your crème fraiche. Once done your vanilla cheesecake mixture should be smooth and silky and quite runny.
- Pour the vanilla cheesecake filling over your cooled biscuit based and level the top.
- Bake in the lower third of your oven for 10 minutes and then immediately turn the temperature down to 110°C/90°C Fan/Gas mark ¼/230°F and bake for another 55 minutes. The cheesecake is ready when it has just started to change colour at the edges but the middle is section still has a wobbly to it.
- Close the oven door and leave the cheesecake to set for 2 hours, then remove and leave to fully cool.
- Wrap the cheesecake, still in its tin, in foil and refrigerate overnight, or for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Loosen the cheesecake from the tin by running a butter knife around the edges and then release the spring form latch and slide onto a serving plate.
Fruit Topping
- Place your still frozen fruits into your heavy based saucepan along with your sugar and lemon juice and mix together.
- Heat on a low setting to just warm through until all of the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn up the heat and bring to a fast rolling boil.
- Leave the fruits to fast boil for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to be sure they have not sticking to the base of the saucepan.
- Meanwhile, mix your cornflour and water together into a paste.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in enough of the cornflour paste to thicken the sauce to a jam like consistency. Turn the heat down and simmer for a minute to cook the paste through.
- Remove from the heat and leave to fully cool.
- Chop up your fresh strawberries and mix into your cooled fruit sauce.
- When ready to serve, spread your fruit sauce over your vanilla cheesecake and enjoy!
It doesn't say how much corn starch and water to add to the fruit topping to thicken.
Ooops you are quite right! I have updated the recipe, thank you for letting me know.
great recipe