Blueberry Cheesecake

In 1999 I was given a copy of Donna Hay’s cookbook as a present..the wonderful Australian chef who changed the way we look at food completely; she is an inspiration for her food presentation and food styling generally. Usually if you have seen a cooking magazine in the last few years, at least half have been inspired by her…In that book there is a recipe for American Cheesecake which is really good and I have made it many times in the last few years..

Afterwards while researching the food of Ancient Greece I discovered that American Cheesecake was not American after all but started out in our country…

In Ancient Greece they made a similar dessert which they gave to the athletes of the Olympic Games and it was also the traditional dessert made for weddings in Ancient Greece. The first surviving recipe was by Athinaios in 300B.C. and was contained in a book called ‘Deipnosofistes’ which means ‘Philosophical Sophist Dining’ and it was very simple..mix cheese which you have beaten with a rolling pin to become like an ointment and add flour and honey..then bake in the “oven”…

Only the base of crushed biscuits is missing..

Most had bases from ‘Plakous” the pies of Ancient Greece and some had sweet fillings like cheese and honey like a recipe that you see here..So this dessert started in Ancient Greece travelled the world and came back as American Cheesecake!!!

I should say at this point, that I make it much lighter adding quite a lot of yoghurt.. but you can maker it without or with strained yoghurt with only 5% fat..

Diffuculty: 2 out of 3

Duration:2 hours and a night in the fridge

Serves:8-12 pieces

Ingredients

For the Base

150gr Digestive or Miranda Greek biscuits

45gr melted butter

For the Filling

500gr cream cheese

200gr granulated sugar

460gr yoghurt

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tsp vanilla essence

4 medium eggs lightly beaten

For the Coulis

300gr blueberries

50gr sugar

10ml lemon juice

1 tsp cornflower

1 tbsp cold water

Method

OK! We start with the base! Put the biscuits in the blender until ground down like breadcrumbs.

In a bowl put the biscuits and the melted butter and mix them together until you achieve something like wet sand. Place the mixture in the base of a cake tray (20-22cm)

Using you hands and a flat-bottomed glass press the mixture firmly into the base of the tray evenly. Bake for 10 mins at 180c and remove and cool on a rack.

Next prepare the filling:

In bowl place the cream cheese and sugar and whisk until they are blended together. Add the yoghurt and mix it in. After add the flour, the vanilla essence mixing it all in, then fold the eggs in using a spatula.

The big secret of the cheesecake is that we don’t beat or mix the eggs in too roughly they should be folded in with a spatula slowly. We don’t want to make bubbles or make the mixture rise too much during the baking process. So NO using a mixer for the ingredients! I hope that was all clear..

Bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 160c for 40 mins approx. It is ready when the centre is wobbly but firm.

Leave it to cool for 10 mins and then separate the cake from the cake tray side with a spatula.

Let it cool down completely and then place in the fridge overnight if possible.

For the coulis we place the fruit and the sugar and the lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins and break up the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon to release their juices. Mix the cornflower with the cold water and add the mixture to the saucepan with the fruit. Boil for 2 mins.

Leave to cool down and blend the contents of the pan in a blender to form a sauce or coulis.

Store in the fridge and serve with the cheesecake.

If you have made it previously you can put 2 or 3 soup spoons of coulis on the cheesecake before baking it.