Compared to most cheesecake recipes, this version isn’t particularly high in fat, as it uses cottage and curd cheeses instead of the traditional cream cheese, and is lightened by folding in whisked egg whites before baking. The delectable filling is set atop a crunchy digestive biscuit and oat base.
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A, B12, C * B2, folate, zinc
Blueberries are a good source of vitamin C and, like cranberries, they contain compounds that have been shown to inhibit bacteria which can cause urinary-tract infections. Studies have suggested that these compounds may also help to protect against cataracts and glaucoma. * Cottage cheese is high in protein but low in fat, and provides useful amounts of the B vitamins B1, niacin, B6 and B12.
Use ginger nuts or oatmeal cookies instead of digestive biscuits. * Make a sponge instead of the biscuit base. Follow steps 2 and 3 of Summer fruit Swiss roll on page 30, but using 1 egg, 30 g (1 oz) caster sugar and 30 g (1 oz) plain flour. Bake the mixture in the springform tin in a preheated 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6) oven for 10 minutes or until well risen and pale golden. * For a red fruit cheesecake, make the filling as in the main recipe, but omitting the blueberries. For the topping, gently heat 55 g (2 oz) sugar with 120 ml (4 fl oz) water in a saucepan until dissolved. Add 170 g (6 oz) stoned cherries and simmer for 3 minutes or until just softened. Remove the cherries with a draining spoon. Mix 1 tbsp arrowroot with 1 tbsp cherry or orange liqueur or water. Add to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes or until the liquid is clear and thickened. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then stir in the cherries, 115 g (4 oz) raspberries and 115 g (4 oz) halved small strawberries. Leave to cool before spooning over the cheesecake.
Altered ingredient amounts. Doubled up on the base ingredients and added extra blueberries. Turned out very well. - 03 Apr 2011
Used different ingredients. Used HobNobs instead of the digestives and porridge oats for the base. - 13 Feb 2011
Used different ingredients. I had to make a couple of small tweaks due to restrictions on ingredients that I couldn't get hold of or didn't have readily available at the time — but those that I knew would work. Instead of jumbo oats, I used Ready Brek. I couldn't get fromage frais or curd cheese at the time, so instead of fromage frais I used half and half double cream/crème fraîche, and instead of curd cheese used Philadelphia. I halved the ingredients to make five little individual heart shaped cheesecakes using a silicone muffin tray. It worked really well; you just pop the cheesecakes out when cooled. - 29 Dec 2008