The Great Cheesecake Adventure

Ok... so I'm going to start off by saying I am NOT a fan of cheesecake. I very rarely like and more often than not, refuse to eat it. However, Matt LOVES it and has mentioned it every time I ask him what dessert he wants me to make. I decided to finally make one!! If only I knew what I was getting myself into...

My dad swears by my mom's cheesecake (I usually take an automatic pass when she makes it). Matt swears by his mom's cheesecake (I've never had it). I decided to try Matt's favorite... We bought everything we needed, mixed it up, and threw it in the oven. After 40 minutes I was wondering why it separated and looked gross so I phoned and asked. To my surprise it was a NO BAKE cheesecake :( ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Needless to say, I was bummed. I poured it down the toilette (it looked like something out of a horror movie) and I tried it again.. but with my mom's recipe. Here's the details in case you want to try it. I actually loved it, so it must be good :) 

Cake Crust 

- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

- 1/4 cup butter, melted

- 2 tbs granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325F. In a medium bowl, combine crumbs, butter and sugar. Press onto the bottom of a 9" springform pan. * I don't have one so I used a square casserole dish. bake for 10 minutes, then cool. 

Lemon Cake Filling

- 3 packages cream cheese (250g each)

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 2 tbs flour

- 1 tbs lemon rind

- 1/4 cup lemon juice

- 4 eggs

Heat oven to 425F. With a mixer or food processor, blend together cream cheese, sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon rind until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Pour over crust. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 275F and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center of the cake is just barely firm to the touch. If you're using a springform pan, loosen the cake from the edges with a knife. do not remove the cake until it has cooled. 

This was one of the easiest cakes I've made. It was super fast, I always thought cheesecakes were hard to make. Earlier in the morning we had bought some blackberries from a sunday market so I made a classic coulis for it. Normally my mom uses raspberries but any fruit works!

Blackberry Coulis

- 2 cups blackberries

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- 1 tsp lemon juice

Using a blender or food processor, puree the fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Strain using a fine-meshed sieve. Press firmly with a spatula or spoon until there are only seeds left. * You can use frozen fruit but remove some of the liquid first. 

This is what the final product looked like... YUM!!