Berry Swirl Cheesecake is a pretty participant at any get together for family or friends. You may end up keeping it for yourself though, it’s that delicious.
Berry Swirl Cheesecake is kind of a work of art. I had as much fun twirling my knife through the batter as I do when I’m wielding a paintbrush at a canvas. I tried to do those elegant squiggles you see in cups of cappuccino, but ended up with more of a culinary tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat.
I know that there are a gazillion cheesecake recipes out there, but I’ve wanted to make one for awhile now, so I’ll add this to the pile. I will make a vegan version at some point too. I try to choose vegetarian recipes that can be easily converted to vegan without sacrificing flavor. Desserts are harder to do that with for me. So milky & eggy. They come out completely different with plant based milk and egg replacers. I read somewhere that a recipe that calls for more than 2 eggs will not turn out the same if you’re using egg substitutes.
Earth Balance has baking sticks that could be substituted, but any solid margarine that isn’t whipped would be fine. The regular tubs can be airy & have too much moisture. just knead the graham cracker mixture until it holds together well. Add a smidge more butter as needed.
For a lower fat version, you could use Neuchâtel cheese, which is 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese. It will make the recipe more a New York style cheesecake, but hey, nothing wrong with that, right?
I have seen a springform pan but I have never used one before. I have a ton of those silicone baking pans though. I went to a Target and grabbed one of the last ones they had that was not dented. KitchenAid were the only line that had one available.
I don’t bake desserts that often to be honest. I prefer spicy or salty to sweet for the most part. I occasionally have cravings though, so I decided to make the Berry Swirl Cheesecake.
I love blackberries though, so now I want to do more desserts. I’m rather fond of blueberries too. The berries on top of the cheesecake were plucked from my garden. So fresh and juicy. I’m waiting impatiently for my dwarf lemon and lime trees to fruit so I can add them to recipes.
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 Tsp. lemon zest
- 2 Tsp. arrowroot powder
- 1 Tbsp. cold water
- CRUST:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
- FILLING:
- 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- In a small saucepan, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice/zest.
- Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the berries are softened.
- Combine arrowroot powder and water until smooth; stir into the berry mixture.
- Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature.
- Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth.
- Strain in fine mesh strainer to remove blackberry seeds.
- Set aside.
- For crust, in a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; stir in the butter.
- Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan.
- Place pan on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Beat in the sour cream, flour and vanilla.
- Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
- Pour filling over crust.
- Drizzle with blueberry mixture; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
- Return pan to baking sheet.
- Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until center is almost set.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Cooking tunes – Adolescents – full album – Adolescents, Agent Orange – Living in Darkness
Writing tunes – Minor Threat – Complete Discography, Misfits – American Psycho
