Blueberry & Lime Baked Cheesecake
It happened like this: all day I had been thinking about what I could bake during my glorious two days of spontaneous time off. I more or less settled on a layer cake. Maybe six inches or so, stacked high into the air, with some sort of fancy decoration. I hadn’t thought of any flavour combinations or particular design yet, but it was slowly coming together. However, a little voice in the back of my head was trying to tell me to make something different, to push myself. If you look at my recipe index, you’ll see that the two biggest categories are Cakes & Pies. It’s hilarious, because in the line-up of upcoming posts I currently have two new pies & one new cake.
Three thoughts played around in my head. One: the chilled desserts section is severely lacking in new content. Two: of everything I’ve ever baked, my Raspberry Swirled Cheesecake is one of my favourites. Three: Food52 officially declared this week Blueberry Week. After I read that, I had a fourth thought: Boyfriend loves blueberries. And so, here we are. Blueberry & Lime Baked Cheesecake. A gift from the baking gods.
Every time I bake cheesecake, I wonder why I don’t do it more often. Yes, you have to bake it in a water bath if you want it to look perfect. Sure, there’s a lot of waiting – you have to make it one day & wait until the next to eat it. That said, it’s so worth it. Aside from the waiting, it’s probably the most deliciously simple thing I’ve ever made. The biscuit base we could all make with our eyes closed. The filling is an electric-whisk-one-bowl-five-ingredient kind of situation. Once baked, cooled, & ready to be eaten, I guarantee this’ll be the best cheesecake you’ve ever made. It’s light, fluffy, and has the consistency of whipped cream. This blueberry & lime baked cheesecake is the one.
Which brings me back to the question: why the heck don’t we do this more often?
Blueberry & Lime Baked Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
for the crust
- 250 g finely crushed digestive biscuits
- 85 g salted butter, melted
- 40 g granulated sugar
for the cheesecake filling
- 900 g cream cheese, full-fat, softened to room temp
- 300 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
for the blueberry & lime drizzle
- 100 g blueberries
- 1/8 cup water
- 25g + 2tbsp granulated sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- zest of 1 lime
- boiling water
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wrap the exterior of a 9-inch spring-form tin tightly in three layers of tin foil, ensuring there are no rips or crevices for water to sneak through; set aside.
- First, the crust. In a large bowl, mix together all of the crust ingredients. Using your fingers (or the base of a measuring cup), press the mixture firmly into bottom & up the sides of your prepared tin. Bake the crust until set, about 10-minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack & reduce the oven temp to 160°C.
- Now, the cheesecake. In a large bowl, use an electric whisk to beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 3-minutes. With mixer on low, add the sugar in a steady stream, scraping down the edges of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla extract & mix thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, mixing each until just combined & scraping down the bowl.
- Pour the filling over the par-baked crust. Place the uncooked cheesecake inside a large roasting tin. Carefully pour boiling water into roasting tin until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin. Very carefully transfer the whole thing to the preheated oven. Bake until the cheesecake is still slightly wobbly in the center, but is mostly set, 65-70 minutes. (A toothpick inserted near the center should not have wet, thin batter on it when removed.)
- Once cooked, transfer the cheesecake to a wire rack, remove the tin foil, & leave it to cool entirely to room temperature. When cooled completely, refrigerate the cheesecake – uncovered – for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- To make the blueberry & lime drizzle, combine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat & simmer gently for 10-12 minutes, or until the berries have released their juices & become somewhat syrupy. Once cooked, transfer to a pouring jug, cool to room temperature & leave in the refrigerator until needed.
- Serve the cheesecake in big wedges with a generous spoonful of the blueberry & lime drizzle over the top.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below, or tag me on Instagram @imvcki. Thank you so much for supporting Passionate Baker!