Recipe: Apple & Blackberry Cheesecake
A crumbly biscuit base, cushions of soft cinnamon cream topped with a gleaming crown of autumn fruits…
I am SO happy about this recipe. It’s perfect if you love the autumnal combo of apple and blackberry but you’re looking for a change from the usual crumbles and pies.
Cheesecake Nostalgia
Cheesecake is one of those desserts that’s an ultimate treat for me. Growing up, we rarely had pudding but occasionally, Mum would thrill us by disappearing into the kitchen as we cleared our plates and returning with a gleam in her eye and a cheesecake in her arms. Heaven!
One day, she and I came up with a cheats version which delighted us with its simplicity. Weekend lunches often consisted of cheese and biscuits and one magical day, it occurred to one of us (I forget who) that by spreading some cream cheese on to a digestive biscuit and then topping with strawberry jam, we could create an almost perfect (in our eyes) cheesecake. We weren’t put off by a lack of cream cheese either and just replaced it with a slice of Cheddar. It was just as good – honestly!
Memories of Crumble
Crumbles were another family favourite, whether it be apple, blackberry, rhubarb or whatever else could be gleaned from the garden. Now, crumbles remind me of those autumnal weekend afternoons. Returning from a woodland walk to look for Mum’s favourite mushrooms (Shaggy Caps), she would fry them up and serve them all gleaming with butter, on toast. Then we would settle down cosily to our own pursuits, each with a bowl of steaming hot crumble, drizzled with chilled single cream. Fire on, Dad would be watching the rugby, Mum and I playing cards and my younger brother rushing around with a towel strapped to his back and a plastic ice cream carton on his head, pretending to be Superted.
This recipe for Apple & Blackberry Cheesecake is a combination of both of those childhood favourites and each mouthful tastes of simple comfort, happiness and home.
- The base
- 150 g digestive biscuits
- 75 g unsalted butter, melted
- 50 g demarera sugar
- The cream filling
- 600 g cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 250 ml double cream
- The fruit
- 2 apples
- 1 tbs water
- 75 g caster sugar
- 150 g blackberries
- Line the bottom of a 23 cm loose bottomed cake tin with greaseproof paper
- Place the digestive biscuits in a bag and bash them until they're crumbled to the consistency of rough breadcrumbs
- Mix in a bowl with the melted butter and sugar and then put it in the cake tin and pat it down so the surface is level
- Chill in the fridge for an hour
- Meanwhile, peel and core your apples and chop into small chunks (approx an inch squared)
- Add them to a small pan with the water and sugar and heat with the lid on for 15-20 minutes until softened
- Add the blackberries and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes
- Leave to cool
- Mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract and cinnamon together in a bowl
- Whisk the cream until it has thickened but isn't too stiff and then mix it together with the cream cheese until it's all smooth
- Put your cream cheese filling on to your biscuit base in the cake tin.
- Use a spatula to smooth it all out and then put in the fridge for at least 3 hours
- Once set, carefully easy the cheesecake out of the tin
- By now your fruit will be cooled and syrupy - pour it on top of your cheesecake and chill until ready to serve
