Baked Vanilla Cheesecake with Blackberry Syrup

My blackberry foraging adventures plus garden bounty have left me, happily, with a fridge and freezer full of wild berries and I am always trying to discover new ways of using them.

I’ve had cheesecake on my ever growing list of treats to make for a very long time. I looked around and found an incredible array of vegan cheesecake recipes with wonderful nutty crusts and raw cashew fillings to the more traditional vegan cream cheese based cheesecakes.

I really wanted to go the baked cheesecake route. I’d never made a baked cheesecake, vegan or otherwise and was intrigued to see how it would work without the traditional reliance on eggs to help the baked set.

I also knew that for my first ever vegan and baked cheesecake, I wanted a really thick biscuit base which was always my favourite part! So, suffice to say that this is far from health food but I can assure you, it is love food – simply good for the mind and soul.

The filling sets beautifully, with no risk of cracking in sight. It is rich, just sweet enough with a slight tang and with a gorgeous aroma of vanilla that flecks through the white, creamy filling so delicately.

The syrup topping is a must, it cuts through the richness with berrylicious sweetness that simply completes the whole experience.

The best part – this was so easy, mix together, bake, cool, eat.

This was simply to die for.

Oh, cheesecake.

Notes:

• I like a high ratio of biscuit base to filling but if you prefer more filling to crust, reduce the base recipe by a third.
• If you would prefer a thicker cheesecake, use an 8 inch round tin, you may have to bake it for a few minutes longer.
• The cheesecake keeps well in the fridge, wrapped, for at least 5 days and can also be frozen.

Ingredients: Serves 12

Cheesecake:

• 300g (20) digestive biscuits (or graham crackers), crumbled
• 110g (1/2 cup) vegan margarine, melted
• 1 tbsp maple or agave syrup
• 450g (16oz/2 tubs) vegan plain cream cheese
• 65g (1/3 cup) unrefined caster sugar
• 4 egg substitutes, prepared (e.g orgran or ener-G)
• Seeds from 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Topping:

• 150g (1 cup) fresh or frozen blackberries
• 2 tbsp maple or agave syrup
• 50g (1/3 cup) fresh or defrosted blackberries for topping
• 50g (1/3 cup) fresh cherries for topping

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190’C/375’F and lightly grease a 9 inch loose bottomed round tin (or 8 inch for thicker cheesecake).
2. In a food processor, blitz the biscuits into crumbs, add the margarine and syrup and blend to combine. Press into the base and a little up the side of the tin.
3. In the same processor, blend the cream cheese, sugar, egg substitutes, vanilla, and lemon juice until creamy and smooth.  Pour onto crust.
4. Transfer to the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set (doesn’t jiggle when you move the pan). Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature then place in refrigerator to chill for 12 hours.
5. Make the topping about an hour before serving. Simply place the 150g (1 cup) of blackberries in a small pan with the syrup over a medium heat. Cook, stirring until syrup like, mashing the berries as you go to extract the juice. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. Push through a sieve into bowl and leave to cool before pouring over the chilled cheesecake.
6. Arrange the cherries and berries on top to serve.

Adapted from vegweb

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