What to bake this weekend: Lemon and blueberry cheesecake

Lemon and blueberry cheesecake
Serves 10

Ingredients

• melted butter, extra, to grease
• 375g cream cheese, at room temperature, cubed
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 185g sour cream
  
• 125ml thin (pouring) cream
• 165g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 200g fresh or frozen blueberries
• icing sugar, to dust

For the biscuit base

• 100g plain sweet biscuits
• 60g butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150?C/gas mark 2. Line the base of a 20cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper. Brush the side of the tin with a little melted butter to grease.
2. To make the biscuit base, process the biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed. Add the butter and process until well combined. Sprinkle the mixture over the base of the tin and use the back of a metal spoon or the base of a glass to press down to cover evenly. Put the tin on a baking tray and place in the fridge.
3. Clean the food processor bowl and process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs and process until smooth. Add the sour cream, thin cream, sugar, lemon zest and juice and process until well combined and smooth, scraping down the side and base of the bowl when necessary. Pour into the tin over the base. Scatter the blueberries over the top.
4. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until the cheesecake is just set but the centre trembles slightly when the tin is shaken gently. Turn off the oven, use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door ajar and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour (this helps prevent the cheesecake from cracking). Transfer the cheesecake, still in the tin, to the fridge and chill for at least 3 hours or until well chilled. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

Note: Having the cream cheese at room temperature means it will easily become smooth and creamy in the food processor. If you use it straight from the fridge, it will take longer and you’ll need to scrape the side and base of the food processor frequently so that no lumps are left after processing. If using frozen blueberries, use them straight from the freezer – do not thaw.

Extracted from BakeClass by Anneka Manning (Murdoch Books).