Baked cheesecake with red berry glaze

Baked cheesecake with red berry glaze. Photograph: Harry Weir
Baked cheesecake with red berry glaze. Photograph: Harry Weir
Serves: 6
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

  • 150g digestive biscuits
  • 75g butter, melted
  • 400g full-fat cream cheese
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 4 medium eggs
  • 1.5tbs lemon juice
  • RED BERRY GLAZE
  • 2 leaves gelatine (10cm x 8cm size)
  • 200g frozen mixed red berries
  • 4tbs water
  • 60g sugar
  • 1tsp lemon juice, to taste

Preheat oven to 150 degrees conventional oven. You will need a well-greased 20cm round springform tin (or loose-bottom cake tin). If your tin is loose fitting, lining it will help prevent any leakages.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs, then stir in the melted butter until thoroughly moistened. Firmly press the biscuit crumb into the base of a well-greased 20cm tin until tightly packed and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk the cream cheese with the sugar. Next add in the eggs and lemon juice and whisk until fully combined and a smooth creamy consistency (don’t over-whisk).

Pour the cheesecake filling on to the chilled biscuit base. Place the filled cheesecake on a baking sheet, transfer to the centre of the preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes. The cheesecake should still wobble slightly in the centre, in which case turn the oven off while leaving the cheesecake to cool inside the oven for at least an hour. However, if your cheesecake is already set in the centre, remove it from the heat of the oven, keeping it at room temperature to cool down completely. Once set, run a thin knife around the inner edge of the tin. Refrigerate to chill completely.

To make the red berry glaze: place gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes. Combine the frozen red berries, water, and sugar together in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat for five minutes. Remove from the heat and use a sieve to catch and discard any seeds while you collect a smooth purée (coulis). Adjust the sweetness with a dash of lemon juice. Reheat the coulis to just below boiling point. Remove the gelatine leaves from the water, squeezing out any excess moisture and quickly whisk the gelatine into the hot coulis, set aside for three minutes, to cool slightly.

Next pour a third of the glaze over the top of the chilled cheesecake and use the back of a spoon to gently spread the glaze from the centre, teasing it towards the edges of the circle, repeating until all the glaze is added (the viscosity of the glaze increases as it cools, which is why the glaze is applied in three parts to form an even, jelly-like layer).

When ready to serve, carefully release the cheesecake from the tin (if you haven’t already done so). Transfer the finished cheesecake to a serving plate.