Cynthia's Berries Cheesecake

After the success of the Strawberry Cheesecake I made earlier this week, it's been on my mind to do a more layered version. After the buzz yesterday, I decided to take a break as there's a lot on my mind.

Life and death. It's just painful how loved ones leave earlier than we wish they would. Then again, it is just something that is beyond our control. ): 

Anyway, on a brighter note, I'd rate this recipe a difficult level 3 out of 5 and it takes about 3 hours all in all to prepare. 

Cynthia's Berries Cheesecake Recipe

This recipe yields a 8" cake

125g strawberry yoghurt

125g blueberry yoghurt (If unavailable, replace with strawberry yoghurt + 30g blueberries)

250g plain yoghurt

500g cream cheese, preferably room temprature

5 tbsp gelatin powder

200ml water

150g castor sugar

270g digestive biscuits

112g unsalted butter

250g strawberries (about 2 punnets)

50g blueberries

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1/2 a lemon)

3 tbsp castor sugar

pink wilton gel food colouring

violet wilton gel food colouring

Method

These are the digestive biscuits I used. 

Have the digestive biscuits in a thick clean plastic bag or a sturdy ziplock bag. 

Crush it till you get something like sand. I used the back of my wooden mooncake mould to 'whack' the biscuits!

Melt the butter over a double boiler or in the microwave oven on medium high heat for a minute or till melted. Allow it to cool before pouring it into the bag of biscuits.

Shake the bag to mix the butter and biscuits. You should get something like wet sand. For this cake, you'd need to use a baking tin with a removable base or a cake ring with a cake base. Springform pans are okay but I just don't like them. I feel that the first two choices creates a cleaner cake. 

Using the back of a spoon or big spoon (easier to work with), smooth out the mixture and compress it as best as you can, ensuring that the sides are well compressed. Pop into the freezer to set while you prepare the cream cheese component.

In a microwavable bowl, have the water and gelatin mixed together. Microwave on medium-high heat for a minute or till mixture is all dissolved. Allow to cool. Portion into 3 portions in the ratio 2: 1: 1. (2 parts for the plain portion, 1 part for the strawberry one and 1 part for the blueberry one)

In a mixing bowl, combine half of the cream cheese and half of the sugar. Whisk well on low speed till mixture is creamy. 

Add in the 2 parts gelatin mixture. Whisk well on low speed till well combined.

This is the yoghurt that I used.

Add the 2 packets of plain yoghurt into the mixing bowl.

Mix well on low speed till well combined.

Pour into baking tin with digestive biscuit base. 

Add 38g of sugar to 125g of the cream cheese. This will be the blueberry layer. Mix well. 

Add the 1 portion of gelatin mixture and mix well.

Add in the blueberry yoghurt. If you cannot find any like me, use strawberry yoghurt (125g) and add a small handful of blueberries (about 30g, not included in recipe).

Add in a small bit of violet food colouring. Mix well. Try to blend the blueberries into the mixture if you can.

Pour the mixture from the middle of the tin. The shape will take its form if you pour it in gently from the middle. 

Repeat steps for the strawberry portion. Use pink instead of violet.

Pour the strawberry mixture from the middle of the baking tin.

Pop cake into freezer (with another cake board or plate below the cake tin/cake ring for better stability) for 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours or till a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cake. You should also feel some light resistance. That way, you'd know that your cake is ready. Bring down to chiller and prepare berries. 

Wash strawberries and slice a small part of the top to level the strawberry. Wash the blueberries too. 

In a non stick pot/skillet, add the strawberries, 10g of blueberries, water, lemon juice and castor sugar. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Stir well. Crush one strawberry and mix well into mixture for better flavour. The blueberries will burst on their own, releasing their flavours. Allow mixture to bubble.

When mixture has come to a boil, cook for another 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 40g blueberries. If you were to cook all the blueberries together, they WILL BURST and there will be none left at the end of the cooking process. 

Remove berries and allow then to cool down completely. They are meant to be slightly soft. 

Remove cake from cake tin by running the back of a small paring knife along the sides of the cake. Gently push the cake base up while pulling the cake 'walls' down. You may wish to prop the cake base on a taller unit like a milo tin cake and gently pull the cake 'walls' down.

Arrange berries on top of cake. Serve chilled! For best results, chill over night to allow cheesecake and base to firm up real good. (:

NOTE: Some have asked me why I cooked my strawberries. I cooked them as a compote as it prevents the drying of the fruit. It also gives it a better shine which dry fruits do not have. In fact, plain strawberries will start to dry once left in the refrigerator. The compote also tastes great so that's why I choose to cook them! (: 

Here are some tips and things to note when 'baking' this cake! (:

1) Do be precise with your measurements, especially the gelatin. This is the type of baking tablespoon to use:

Image taken from http://www.bakingshop.com/bc/img/MSP-47118.jpg

2) Do warm up the gelatin. If you do not have a microwave oven, you may boil it over very low fire to warm it up. 

3) Do watch the timing when setting the cake. Remove it from the freezer after the cake is set. Store the cake in the chiller. The cake stores best in an air tight container.

4) The cake contains cream cheese and even if it doesn't melt, I do not recommend leaving this for long in room temperature.

5) Do not leave the batter out for too long when preparing the cheesecake. It will firm up. 

6) The cake should be consumed within 3 - 4 days for maximum freshness. 

I hope you'll enjoy this cake! (: 

Check out these beautiful renditions of this cake by many of my friends and readers like yourself! (:

By Ellena Tham

By Angeline Chai

By Fiona Ng

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: