Blackberry swirl cheesecake Sweet Treats
September is here, and for me that can only mean one thing – blackberry season has begun! They are excellent in anything from a brandy to a crumble, and here I suggest another way to use the humble berry. If you are feeling up to the challenge, source the blackberries from hedges or bushes (off busy roads for less pollution), then just gently rinse the berries in a bowl of cold water. This decadent cheesecake is best served chilled, and despite your eyes persuading, should be served in small slices; you can always go back for more!
Yield: 8 servings | Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
– 175g plain digestives, crushed
– 900g cream cheese, room temperature
– 245g sugar
– 1tsp vanilla extract
– 4 eggs
– 400g blackberries
– 1tsp sugar
Instructions
1- Preheat oven to 160°C/Gas 3. Grease a 20cm/8in springform tin and place on a large sheet of foil. Press foil up the sides of the tin, making sure the foil goes more than halfway up.
2-Press biscuits on bottom and up side of prepared tin. Get a roasting tray the tin fits into and place tin inside.
3-Puree blackberries with 1tsp sugar and strain if you don’t want seeds in the cake.
4-Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and vanilla, beating until everything is incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5-Pour two thirds of the cheesecake batter into the tin, then all of the puree, and finish with remaining batter. Or, pour all the batter into the tin and the puree on top, if you want the marbling to show on the top instead of inside the cake.
6-To get a marbled effect use a straw or skewer and, without touching the crumb base, insert it into the tin straight up and draw a squiggle- a cursive ‘m’ shape but repeated and without re-starting. Turn the tin ¼ turn to the right, and repeat the squiggle to create a marbled cross hatch effect. Fill the roasting tray the tin is sitting in with water, filling until water goes halfway up the tin.
7-Bake until there is almost no jiggling in the cake and the edges have turned golden brown, about 1½ hours. Check once or twice to see how it is getting on, and top up water if needed.
8-Cool in the tin before running a knife around the edge to loosen. Serve after chilling for a few hours.