Baked Cranberry Cheesecake

Okay, so I know Christmas is only just over and right now food is probably the last thing on your minds, if the amount I've consumed in the last few days is anything to go by! But I'm going to tell you about a recipe anyway. Because I've not blogged in forever and to be honest this cheesecake is so light and fluffy that it's basically like eating fresh air (but much tastier of course!) (and well actually, it's probably not like eating fresh air at all...!). Anyway, enough of my ramblings, it tasted damn good and that's all that matters.

As much as I love all the traditional Christmas desserts: pudding, cake, mince pies, stollen, etc. etc. I do get a bit sick of them after a while and they can be quite stodgy. So I thought about making something a bit different that's lighter and less rich and I came up with a cheesecake. But to make sure that it was still vaguely Christmassy I tried it with cranberries instead and I have to admit, I'm quite impressed with the result. Thankfully the rest of the fam were too! It was loosely based on this recipe here, but I made a few alterations and it tasted wonderful. So whilst cranberries are still hanging around in the supermarkets buy some and get baking!

Baked Cranberry Cheesecake (serves 10)

Ingredients:

100g Chocolate Digestives

50g Butter

1 1/2 cups of fresh Cranberries

1/2 cup Sugar

1tbsp Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)   

3tbsp Water

1 cup Sugar

300g Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1/2 Plain Fat-Free Greek Yoghurt

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Pinch Salt

2 Eggs

1 Egg White

Method:

1. Wrap a cake tin with a double layer of foil around the bottom and sides and grease.
2. Place biscuits in a food processor and mix until finely finely ground.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan and stir in broken biscuits.
4. Press the mixture into the cake tin and leave to cool.
5. Place the cranberries, sugar, liqueur and water in a saucepan and boil.
6. Cook for about 8 minutes until the cranberries start to pop and the mixture becomes syrupy.
7. Cool for about 20 minutes and process in a food processor until smooth.
8. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
9. Combine the sugar and cheese in a large bowl and beat until smooth.
10. Beat in yoghurt, vanilla essence and salt.
11. Add the whole eggs, beating well after each addition.
12. In a separate bowl whisk the egg white until soft peaks form.
13. Fold the egg white into the cheese mixture carefully.
14. Pour the filling over the biscuit base.
15. Spoon the majority of the cranberry mixture over the base and swirl together using the tip of a knife.
16. Place the cake tin in a roasting dish and pour hot water into it so it is about 2 inches deep.
17. Bake for about 40 minutes until the the centre of the cheesecake barely moves when you touch the pan.
18. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for about 30 minutes.
19. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the outside edge.
20. Take it out of the tin and cool on a wire rack.
21. Chill for 8 hours.
22. Just before serving spread a layer of the cranberry mixture over the top and enjoy!

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cheesecake

I thought I was going to be spending my summer blogging away to my heart's content with nothing to do but bake and blog. Time has just been disappearing though, because for some reason I seem to have been far busier than I intended. Not that I'm complaining by any means, as being busy and having a full diary is what I like!  But I've missed baking! Anyway, the other day I finally found my way back to the kitchen and set myself the challenge of cooking up something with gooseberries. Why gooseberries, I hear you ask? I have asked my Dad this same question on several occasions, because he is the one to blame for the influx of gooseberries we have growing in our garden. And the task seems to have fallen on me to come up with a dish that can be made from them. Personally, I would have probably chosen to grow anything but these odd little berries if I had the choice, but apparently they are easy to grow as we just keep finding more and more in the garden every summer. Sour, unattractive and often forgotten about, this fruit doesn't really have a lot going for it, but after a bit of searching I eventually came upon this rather wonderful recipe for a gooseberry and elderflower cheesecake. It is even low in fat (if a cheesecake can ever be low in fat that is!). Bonus. And perhaps my opinion has been swayed so I can in fact thank my Dad for making the decision to grow these odd little berries. Because when put with the right ingredients and given something sweet, gooseberries can possibly be made into the perfect desserts.  

Speaking of desserts, I came across this quote the other day in a café which made me smile.

"Desserts is stressed in reverse...coincidence?"

I am utterly convinced that this is no coincidence at all and desserts were invented purely to take away our stresses! How brilliant would it be if all it took was a dessert to make us feel relaxed and stress-free?! If only... Although actually, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, baking and eating is enough to put me in a better mood instantly. So on that note, get baking and try this delicious gooseberry and elderflower cheesecake!

Gooseberry and Elderflower Cheesecake (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

10 Digestive Biscuits

60g Melted Butter

250g Quark

250g Light Cream Cheese

150g Icing Sugar

1tsp Vanilla Extract

3tbsp Elderflower Cordial

1 Sachet Powdered Gelatine

350g Gooseberries (topped and tailed)

2dsp Sugar (or to taste)

2tbsp Elderflower Cordial

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits in a blender until they resemble fine bread crumbs.
2. Mix with the melted butter.
3. Spoon into a greased and lined cake tin and place in the fridge for an hour to chill. 
4. Whisk together the quark, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla. 
5. Put the cordial in a heat-proof bowl and heat in the microwave until hot it starts to bubble. 
6. Sprinkle the powdered gelatine over the top, leave for a minute or so and stir until it dissolves.
7. Add this to the cheese mixture and stir thoroughly.
8. Pour into the cake tin and place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours or overnight.
9. For the gooseberries, place the berries in a small pan with the sugar.
10. Heat until they start to burst and release juice.
11. If there is too much excess liquid, drain it off as it doesn't want to be too watery.
12. Stir the berries so they are a bit squashed and not whole.
13. Add the elderflower cordial and taste - it should still be sharp but not too sour.
14. Leave to cool, then chill the mixture in the fridge.
15. When ready to serve, spoon the berries over the cheesecake mixture, sprinkling some flaked almonds over if you like and enjoy!