While we're on the topic...

Late last summer, my boyfriend Andrew and a good friend of his, struck gold one day when biking around Holyrood Park. Rows and rows of blackberry bushes unfolded before their eyes, all with perfectly ripe fruit for the picking. One would be foolish not to see the baking potential in a situation like this!
Thanks to their foraging efforts, we now had a couple jars of homemade jam and baked vanilla and blackberry cheesecake. Thankyou mother nature for providing the goods!

The principles for this recipe are much the same as for the pumpkin version. Make the base as before, but with digestive biscuits instead. Then simply mix together... 
 500g cream cheese, 300ml sour cream, 150g caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence and 2 beaten eggs. Pour into the tin and tap the sides lightly.

 I made a coulis from the berries, by bringing 250g berries and 50g caster sugar to the boil and simmering for 5 minutes. Tip it into a blender, give it a whizz and and pour through a sieve. 



The next step, is your chance to let the inner creative genius flow. Just drizzle or dollop the coulis over the cheesecake with a spoon and drag the tip of a knife through it. Bake at 170 C for 30 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the centre is a little wobbly.

Spicy Pumpkin Cheesecake...

I had hoped to get this cheesecake out of the oven in time for Halloween, but alas... there wasn't a pumpkin to found in the entire city! Once supply and demand had caught up with each other,  I finally got hold of the perfect pumpkin and created something quite lovely from it.
A lighter and more subtle version of the traditional pumpkin pie.
I suggest you try out the ginger snap base, but of course a digestive base would suffice! 

The ingredients...

250g ginger snap biscuits
65g butter

340g cooked and mashed pumpkin (steamed if possible)

100g brown sugar

125g caster sugar

450g cream cheese

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

4 eggs

Oven set at 170 C.

Grease the sides of a spring-form tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
Crush the ginger snaps fairly well, add in the melted butter and press firmly into the tin. Bake for  5-7 minutes and put aside.
Beat together the cream cheese and both sugars, then add the pumpkin and spices. Beat the eggs separately and fold into the mix. Pour onto the base, give it little shake to get rid if bubbles and even it out.
Bake in the centre of your oven for 90 minutes (but as all ovens are unique, it pays to check on it after 75 - 80 minutes). You're looking for firm edges and a slightly wobbly centre. If it begins to brown to much before its ready, cover the top with tin foil.
Leave in the oven with the door open. Once completely cooled, put in the fridge.
Serve with a decent dollop of whipped cream.

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