Blueberry Cheesecake Brûlée Pots Recipes

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Place shelf in middle of oven.
• Line inverted base: Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly then press on a square piece of parchment/baking paper. Then clip into the springform pan - excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
• Line sides: Butter and line the side of the pan.
• Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
• Blitz until fine crumbs. Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.(Note 5)
• Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
• Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I use a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
• Cream cheese: Use a stand mixer (with paddle) or handheld beater to beat the cream cheese until just smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You do not want to aerate cheesecake filling too much as it causes cracks when it bakes)
• Add flour, beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just incorporated.
• Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 sec max, speed 4).
• Eggs: Add eggs one at a time - beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 in between each. After the last egg, beat as needed until batter is smooth - but stop beating immediately once smooth.
• Blueberries: Stir in blueberries with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared crust.
• Bake: Bake for 70 minutes. The top should be a bit puffed, very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan, see video at 1 min 23 sec (sets in next step).
• Cool: Cool the cake in the oven with the door open approx 20 cm / 8" for about 2 hours (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan or overnight. Cake will sink and surface should be flat.
• Release: Remove sides of springform pan. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan base. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
• Place 1 cup of blueberries (125g/4oz), vanilla, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 7 minutes until blueberries breakdown.
• Mix cornflour and water, then stir in - it wil thicken quickly.
• Stir in remainig blueberries. Sauce should be syrupy - remove from stove and cool. Will thicken as it cools.
• Once cool, stir. Adjust thickness 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time to make it the perfect "oozing" consistency (see video, Note 7) - be careful, don't make it runny!
• Spoon onto cheesecake so it's completely covered - you'll have maybe 1/2 cup sauce left, good for touch ups. Refrigerate 2 hours+.
• Slice and serve!

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat it to 325°F.
• Boil water: Fill a kettle or a large pot with water and cover it with a lid. Bring it up to a boil over high heat while you prepare the cheesecake filling. You will use the boiling water to create a hot water bath to bake the cheesecake.
• Bake the cheesecake: Bake the cheesecake until slightly puffed up around the edges and 2 to 3 inches in the center is slightly jiggly (resembling Jell-O), about 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the oven door about 1 inch. You can use a wooden spoon to prop the door open. Let the cheesecake finish setting in the oven until there is barely any jiggle left in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Loosely cover it with a clean kitchen towel and refrigerate it until fully cooled, at least 6 hours. The cheesecake will firm up and no longer jiggle in the center.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BRûLéE POTS

Steps:

• Place the blueberries in a saucepan with 1 tbsp of the caster sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook, covered, for 5 mins until the berries are soft and juicy. Add the cornflour paste and cook, stirring until thickened. Divide the blueberries between 4 heatproof dishes and leave to cool for 10 mins.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk the soft cheese, yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest with the remaining caster sugar. Add the crumbled biscuits to the dishes and top with the cheesecake mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hr.
• Heat grill to high. Sprinkle each cheesecake with 1 tbsp demerara sugar, then mist with a water spray - this helps to speed up the caramelisation. Place under the grill for 1-2 mins until the sugar has melted or use a cook's blowtorch. Return the pots to the fridge to chill for 30 mins or for up to a day, before serving.

CONTEST-WINNING BLUEBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the berries are softened. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into the blueberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. Set aside. , For crust, in a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; stir in the butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, flour and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour filling over crust. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons blueberry mixture; cut through batter with a knife to swirl., Return pan to baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with remaining blueberry sauce. Refrigerate leftovers.