Blueberry Cheesecake

It is now the final month of the year. How time flies! Soon it will be 2015 and that time of year again for new year resolutions. I am not in the habit of making resolutions but for 2015 I think I may have a few. "I will eat less carbohydrates" is not of them though hee..hee..

Since we are at the year end, it is time to do a stock take of what is sitting in the fridge. I see two tubs of sour cream with expiry dates looming near. Then there are 3 bottles (why 3 ah???) of blueberry jam. One has got about 1 tablespoon of jam, the second 1/2 full while the third is 3/4 full. I cannot remember why I have these 3 bottles of jam and they are taking up space.

So to get rid of at least 2 of them, it would be a good idea to bake a blueberry cheesecake. As I gathered all my ingredients, I discovered to my dismay that the bottle of jam that was 1/2 full had gone bad. Look at how yucky it is. What a waste. But not totally as I emptied the contents into my compost bin and buried it.

Eeeeks!! Fungus!

I usually bake 8" cheesecakes and this time, I decided to use my cute 6" springform pan. I don't usually bake small cakes but somehow that 6" pan caught my eye and I bought it on a whim. With such a small pan, I needed only one package of cream cheese and only 1/2 tub of sour cream. I'll have to find something else to bake with the remaining sour cream.

The funny thing is that this little cake took 1 hour 10 minutes to bake, same timing as my 8" cake. I would have thought that it would be done in about 45 minutes or so. But never mind, it was a Saturday and it was a free and easy day. By the way, I had a small disaster while mopping the floor. My mop broke.

Luckily, I was already done and this happened when I was twisting the mop to squeeze out the water. I'll have to buy a new one and that handle could come in handy in the garden. I can use it as stake for those floppy plants. Oh dear, how did I get from blueberry cheesecake to broken mop?

I am happy that my little blueberry cheesecake turned out pretty well. The only thing I was not happy with is the crust. I usually bake the crust for about 10 minutes first (for an 8" cake) although it is not necessary. This time I just chilled it and I think there is a textural and taste difference between a digestive biscuit crust that is baked and non-baked. But that's just me.

I love this cheesecake though it was a tad too sweet due to the jam. The jam I used for the filling is a no-sugar added one while the one for the topping, though organic, has sugar added. Well, that was phase 1 of my stock clearance. There will be more to come!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Recipe source : Adapted from Aunty Young

(Makes one 6" cake)

Ingredients :

- 100g digestive biscuits, finely crushed

- 50g melted butter

- 250g cream cheese, at room temperature

- 125g sour cream

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 100g caster sugar (please adjust according to sweetness of the jam you are using)

- 2 eggs

- Blueberry jam

Method :

1. Generously grease a 6" springform pan with butter. Wrap the bottom of then pan with double layer of aluminum foil and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix crushed digestive biscuits with melted butter until mixture resembles wet sand.

3. Pour mixture into the pan and using your fingers, press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of them pan. Place pan in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling. (I would prefer to bake the crust in future at 140C for about 8-10 minutes)

4. In a mixing bowl add cream cheese and sugar.

5. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is creamy.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

7. Add sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.

8. Remove about 1 cup of the cheese mixture and mix it with two tablespoons of blueberry jam. Set aside.

9. Pour the remaining plain filling into the cake pan.

10. Drop table spoonfuls of the blueberry cheese mixture into the filling and then using a butter knife, swirl the batter.

11. Place the pan into another bigger baking pan. Fill the bigger pan with boiling water until water level reaches halfway up the cake pan.

12. Bake at 140C for 1 hour 10 minutes or until the outer ring of the cake is firm but the middle is still jiggly. (Note : Your cake could be done is lesser time, check after 40 minutes)

13. Leave the cake in the oven with door ajar for 30 minutes.

14. Remove from oven and leave to cool before unmoulding the cake.

15. Once cool, spread blueberry jam on top of the cake and chill for a few hours before serving.