Blueberry cheesecake

This is simply the best blueberry cheesecake! A wonderfully creamy vanilla cheesecake topped with a silky sour cream layer and generously covered with fresh blueberries. It sits on a crisp chocolate biscuit base and is made without separating the eggs, using both curd cheese and ricotta for an exceptionally smooth, light texture. It’s easy to prepare and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients for the biscuit base:

• 160 g dark chocolate digestive biscuits
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 30 g unsalted butter, melted

Place the biscuits, cocoa powder and melted butter into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles wet sand. Alternatively, place the biscuits in a sturdy freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Mix with the cocoa powder and melted butter.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the base of the tin.

Bake at 175°C for about 12 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly while preparing the filling.

Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:

• 500 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, finely ground three times
• 500 g ricotta
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ tablespoons vanilla custard powder (or potato starch/cornflour)
• 200–250 g caster sugar
• 8 g vanillin sugar

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place all the filling ingredients into the bowl of a mixer. Mix just until smooth and combined, or stir together with a whisk. Avoid overmixing, as incorporating too much air will cause the cheesecake to rise excessively during baking and then collapse. The finished cheesecake should have a smooth, level surface. Pour the filling over the prepared biscuit base.

Bake at 175°C for about 45 minutes, or until the surface is set when gently touched with a skewer. If necessary, bake for a few minutes longer.

You’ll also need:

• 250 ml sour cream
• 350 g fresh blueberries

Stir the sour cream until completely smooth.

Remove the hot cheesecake from the oven, spread the sour cream evenly over the surface and return it to the oven for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately scatter the blueberries over the warm sour cream topping. Leave to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Store the blueberry cheesecake in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!