Red Berry Cheesecake

Before starting this Red Berry Cheesecake recipe, organise all the necessary ingredients.

The day before: Break the butter cookies into big chunks and place them in a processor bowl. Alternatively, you can use rich shortcrust pastry which has been cooked, broken and ground into a coarse powder.

Mix until you obtain a crumbly consistency.

Transfer into a mixing bowl...

... and add the melted butter (still warm).

Combine gently with a spatula.

Line a round cake pan Ø 24cm with softened butter, using a pastry brush.

Pour the crumble and butter mix at the bottom of the round cake mould.

Press to make it compact. I used a small cake board for this operation.

For the cream cheese preparation: Place the Philadelphia® cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add the castor sugar.

Add the liquid vanilla extract...

... the zest of one lemon...

... and combine with a maryse spatula until homogeneous.

Add the flour...

... and combine with a whisk until smooth and homogeneous.

Add the whole eggs (beaten beforehand) in three batches. Start with a first batch of beaten eggs...

... and whisk vigorously until incorporated.

Add the second batch and whisk again. Add the last batch and whisk until smooth and homogeneous.

Pour the whipping cream into the stand mixer recipient and whisk until soft.

Add the soft whipped cream to the cheesecake preparation and combine gently with the rubber spatula.

Pour the cheesecake preparation into the mould, over the crumble base, and even the surface.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Place the cheesecake in a fan-assisted oven preheated at 180°C (gas 4). Reduce the temperature immediately down to 150°C (gas 2)...

... and bake for 50 minutes.

When cooked, leave the cheesecake in the oven turned off, with the door open, during 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and leave to cool at room temperature. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

For the red berry confit: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

In a saucepan, pour the red berry purée and 3/4 of the castor sugar. Place the pan on the heat.

In a bowl, place the rest of the sugar and the pectin NH coating. Combine with a spoon. This step is essential to avoid lumps.

When the red berry purée starts to release smoke, add the pectin and sugar mix while whisking.

Bring to a boil and cook for a further 1 or 2 minutes to activate the pectin, while whisking constantly.

Transfer the red berry confit into a food prep tray...

... cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool at room temperature.

Transfer the red berry confit into a mixing bowl...

... and whisk until smooth.

The result should be as shown in the photo.

Pour the red berry confit into a piping bag (the use of a nozzle is not necessary). Refrigerate until ready to assemble.

The next day: Take the cheesecake out of the freezer.

Remove the cling film...

... and open the hinge to release the cake from the springform pan. If the mould was greased properly, the cheesecake should come off easily without using a knife.

Remove the outer ring of the springform pan.

This is what the cheesecake should look like at this stage.

Arrange the cheesecake carefully on a serving plate, using two cranked spatulas. Pipe the red berry confit into a spiral on the surface of the cheesecake. The confit should have a soft texture.

Spread the red berry confit to a regular thickness, using a mini cranked spatula.

I cut two slices of cheesecake for photo shoot purposes. You obviously don't need to do this at home.

Arrange strawberries harmoniously over the surface of the cheesecake...

... as well as blackberries, raspberries coated with icing sugar...

... blueberries and red currants. Reserve in the fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy this delicious dessert!