Frills May Be Attached: How to make: Blackberry { bramble } cheesecake!

It's no secret that I have a maaaassive sweet tooth when it comes to cheesecake - I absolutely love it! So, naturally, RE: my last blog post on foraging for blackberries, I decided there would be nothing better to do than make a bramble cheesecake! I've tried making this exact recipe with raspberries, and have always loved the results - so I was keen to try it with my salvaged blackberries. :)

YOU WILL NEED:

150g Digestive Biscuits
75g Butter, unsalted
500g Cream Cheese
1 1/2 tbsp Plain Flour
150g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
125ml Sour Cream
300g Blackberries
1 tbsp Icing Sugar

7in round pan, preferably silicone
A baking sheet

First things first! Before you get started doing anything, you need to preheat your oven to around 180°c / 350°f / gas mark 4. Put all of your digestive biscuits into a small plastic bag, seal the end (or at least make sure your biscuits won't fall out) and - this is the fun bit, especially if you need to work out some frustration! - bash them with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs with a nice, even texture. You can do this in a food processor, but that does take away most of the fun!

Pour your biscuit crumbs into a medium-sized bowl, and melt your butter - you can either do this slowly in a saucepan or, as I tend to do, in the microwave in a little pyrex dish. In the microwave the butter only really needs around 10 - 15 seconds before it's properly melted, so just take it out and give it a stir before adding it to the bowl with your biscuit crumbs. Mix thoroughly until both the crumbs and the butter are combined.

Pop your biscuit mix into the bottom of your container and press it firmly downwards with your knuckles. As this will form the base of your cheesecake, you don't want it loose! I have heard other people suggest baking the base for five or so minutes, but I find this makes it a little too crisp for my liking - it's totally at your discretion!

In yet another bowl - a larger one this time - pour in your cream cheese, flour, vanilla extract, eggs and soured cream and use an electric whisk to combine them thoroughly. You can do this by hand, definitely, but it will take time and leave your arms aching!

Separate half of your blackberries and very gently fold them into your mix so as not to squash them.

After you've mixed the blackberries in, you'll need to pour everything into the container you'll be using to cook the cheesecake, directly on top of your biscuit base.

Place the container onto your baking sheet and place in the oven to bake for at least 35 minutes before checking it. If it's still not setting around the edges, give it another five minutes. You can see a pair of very helpful bullie butts reflected in the oven here - they love to get under my feet when I'm in the kitchen!

When you take it out of the oven, don't worry if it's still quite wobbly! As long as it is firmly set around the edges, with a softer centre, you'll be fine. Allow it 15 minutes to cool on the side before putting it into the fridge to chill overnight.

If you have fidgety fingers while you wait, wonderful: you can get started making your blackberry coulis! Grab a few of the blackberries leftover from earlier, put them into a small pan with your icing sugar (1 tbsp) and warm them over a low heat so that the fruit starts to weep and the sugar melts slightly. Then, with a wooden spoon, crush the fruit into a sieve over a jug so that the juice is collected beneath. Done! Keep this aside for later so that you can pour a little onto your finished cheesecake. :)

When you come to take your cheesecake out of the fridge again you'll notice how well it's set overnight - this is why it's so important to chill it overnight! Run a pallette knife gently around the edge of the bowl and carefully upend the bowl to remove your cheesecake - then just turn it the right way around and place on your serving plate.