Vanilla Cheesecake with Fruit Topping
Velvety baked Vanilla Cheesecake with a fruit sauce topping made of strawberries and blueberries sitting on a crunchy biscuit base. Perfection!
Servings: 12 slices
Calories:
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Alter quantities (metric only) 12 slices
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
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 your cornflour paste. 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!