Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce

I told you I had an addiction – if you did not believe me then, you might start believing me now. :D

There is one thing different, however: this time I went for blueberries instead of blackberries, as in Natalie’s recipe. Just don’t ask me which one I like more – you know I have trouble picking favorites. :D

Vanilla cheesecake with blueberry lemon sauce
from Donna Hay magazine and here

Base:
125g digestive/shortbread cookies – I used these, Ana’s suggestion
½ cup (50g) almond meal (ground almonds)
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
370g ricotta
370g cream cheese
1 1/3 cups (267g) caster sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Blueberry lemon syrup:
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
¾ cup (150g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup (60ml) water
1 tablespoon corn starch

Preheat the oven to 140°C/285°F.
Make the base: process cookies in a food processor until crushed. Add the almond meal and butter and process until combined. Grease a round 22cm springform pan*. Press the crumb mix over the base and refrigerate.
Place the ricotta and cream cheese in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and process until combined and smooth. Pour the mixture over the base and bake for 55-60 minutes or until set.
In the meantime, make the sauce: combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a non-reactive saucepan. Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to the saucepan. Turn the heat on to medium and let simmer until thickened, about 10 – 12 minutes – while the mixture is simmering, squash the berries with a fork. Let cool completely.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan. Serve with the sauce.

* I made 2/3 of the recipe above (for the base and cheesecake) and used a loose-bottomed 20cm (8in) round cake pan

Serves 8-10