Mini blueberry cheesecakes

Make these easy, no cook cheesecakes the night before and leave in the fridge. If you have room, there are some spare for second helpings or just freeze the extras with a little pot of blueberries for another time.

Makes: 8
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 minutes
Chilling time: 5 hours or overnight


Ingredients

Biscuit base

  • 75g (3oz) digestive biscuits

  • 25g (1oz) butter

  • 2 teaspoons golden syrup

Cheesecake

  • 300g (11oz) full fat cream cheese

  • 65g (21/2oz) caster sugar

  • 1 lemon, grated rind and juice

  • 200ml (7fl oz) double cream

Topping

  • 1 teaspoon cornflour

  • Juice of ½ lemon

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 40g (11/2oz) caster sugar

  • 200g (7oz) Chilean blueberries


Method

  1. Add the biscuits to a small plastic bag, seal the top then crush the biscuits with a rolling pin. Heat the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan until melted, stir in the biscuit crumbs and mix together.  Divide between 8, 75ml (3fl oz) heart shaped sections in a flexible silicone cake mould. Press the biscuits into a thin layer with the back of a teaspoon. Chill while making the filling.

  2. Add the cream cheese, caster sugar and lemon rind to a bowl and whisk together briefly until just mixed. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice and the cream until smooth and thick.

  3. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into crumb lined moulds then spread into an even layer and swirl the tops with the back of a spoon. Chill for 5 hours or overnight. 

  4. To make the blueberry topping, add the cornflour to a small saucepan, stir in the lemon juice and mix until smooth then add the water, sugar and blueberries. Cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring until the blueberries are just beginning to soften and the sauce has thickened to become a rich blueberry colour. Leave to cool, cover and chill until ready to serve

  5. To serve, loosen the edges of the heart moulds and press up from the base, removing the cheesecakes with a small spatula. Transfer to serving plates and spoon the blueberries on top.    

Cook’s tip
If you find the cheesecakes a little tricky to remove from the moulds or haven’t had much time to chill them, freeze for 30 minutes to firm up then try again. 

Jade ThorneComment