Sometimes a craving just hits you over the head. That’s what happened last weekend – I needed a slice of cheesecake. The fact that I also needed to make a birthday cake for two of my friends who both share the same birthday was a good reason to indulge. So Baked Cheesecake with Blackberry Sauce happened. This recipe for baked cheesecake isn’t all that difficult compared to some baked cheesecake recipes. It is the secret ingredient of yogurt that lightens the cheesecake and adds a bit of tang to the flavour.
Now first of all I want to apologize for the quality of the pictures! I forgot my camera at home and had to use my phone and the lighting wasn’t the best. But I think you can still appreciate the lightness and height of this yummy dessert.
I took my husband picking wild blackberries for the sauce. Now that was an experience. His arms were bleeding by the end – he shouldn’t have worn a t-shirt – long sleeves and pants are a requirement for this job. If you’ve never had the opportunity to pick wild black berries you can’t imaging how prickly and cruel these vines are. The thorns stick to you and will rip your skin. BUT the berries – they are so delicious it is worth the pain. Adorning the cheesecake with this blackberry sauce was the perfect way to set off the amazing flavour of the berries.
If you love cheesecake but have never made a baked one before – this is the recipe you need to try. Believe me – it’s worth it. Let me know how you like it!
- Crust
- 2½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Filling
- 3 (8 oz) packages regular cream cheese
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1tbsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup plain full-fat yogurt (regular or greek)
- Sauce
- 2 cups of blackberries
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp of cornstarch
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease a 10″ Springform pan.
- Crust:
- In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into the prepared pan and up the sides about 1 inch. Bake for 15 minutes or until just fragrant and turning golden. Remove from oven and reduce the oven temp to 275 degrees F.
- Filling:
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until smooth and very well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often. Add the yogurt and beat on low until just combined.
- Pour into baked crust and smooth the top. Bake at 275 degrees F for about 1 hour or until the outer 2 inches are set but the centre is still wobbly.
- Turn off the oven and let sit in the oven with the door closed for another hour. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge completely.
- Sauce:
- While cake is baking make the sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and blackberries on medium heat. Stir until the berries start to release their juices. In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch in the lemon juice. Once the berries have softened and are at a simmer, add in the cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking on low heat until thickened slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a mason jar. Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, release the cake from the ring of the pan. Slice and drizzle with the berry sauce.