Lemony Baked Berry Cheesecake (with Berry Coulis)

I'd never been a fan of cheesecake (waaay too sickly)  until I discovered baked cheesecake back in the nineties. From then on whenever I spotted that particular dessert in the cake cabinet of a cafe, I ordered it with my cappuccino.

Although I've loved baked cheesecake for years and it has remained a favourite cafe treat, I never actually attempted making it... until now.
For the occasion of Mr G's birthday I googled a recipe, adapted it to my liking and today I'm sharing with you the result.
It's light, it's tangy, it's delicious... and it's EASY. I served it with Berry Coulis that I made myself (again: so easy), so I'll share that with you too.

Here is my take on Lemony Baked Berry Cheesecake
 

INGREDIENTS:
250g packet of plain sweet biscuits (I used malt)
150g butter, melted
500g of lite cream cheese (2 pottles)
3/4 cup of caster sugar
the zest and juice of one medium-large lemon
3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 140oC fan baked (or 150oC regular). Grease a 20-25cm springform pan.

2. Process the biscuits until they are fine crumbs. (I don't have a processor, so I put my biscuits in 4 layers of plastic bags and smashed the heck out of them with a rolling pin, which was more work but did the job.)

3. Add the melted butter and mix together, then press the crumb mixture evenly into the springform pan to create the base and sides. Refrigerate for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling.

4. In a clean bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined. Add the lemon juice and beat for one minute. Stir in approximately a cup of frozen berries.

6. Pour the mixture into the biscuit base and then bake in preheated oven for one hour or until the filling is just set. Cool in the oven with the door ajar, then refrigerate for four hours.

Now for the Easy Berry Coulis...

This is ridiculously quick and simple but adds a berry zing to an already delicious dessert.

I found the recipe on Creature Comforts Blog (thanks Google - what a lovely blog packed full of awesomeness) and having tested it out and found it brilliantly simple and delicious, I now share my take on it here....

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of frozen berries
1/8 cup of water
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice (about half a lemon's worth)
4 Tablespoons of caster sugar

Put all the ingredients in a pot, simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and squishy. Now you can either serve as is, with berry bits (a simple berry sauce) or you can turn it into a "coulis" by mashing it through a sieve and discarding all the seeds and pulp.

Serve this delicious dessert to your delighted family with whipped cream on the side and ENJOY! (candles and birthday wishes optional).

For all my other tried-and-tested favourite recipes check out my

Favourite Recipes Page