Terri Mercieca was born in Australia but now runs an ice-cream business in England called ‘Happy Endings’.
She appeared on the show on Tuesday, baking a delicious blueberry cheesecake.
Buy her book, here.
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Recipe below:
Blueberry Cheesecake
Serves 8
The joy of this cheesecake is that it’s baked like a custard tart, low and slow, to create a silky texture that’s a pleasure to eat. It’s insanely moreish – I dare you to stop at one slice. You can make it with any type of berry but I ADORE blueberries in this recipe. As the blueberries cook, they pop and create a lovely mottled purple hue throughout the cheesecake. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve made this – for myself, on a film shoot for hundreds of people, in a fancy restaurant, for a dinner party – there’s no occasion it doesn’t work for. If you make it once, I promise it won’t be the last. There are a few options for the biscuit base. If you have time, use the Monte Carlo Biscuit recipe on page 30 to create a buttery shortbread crust. If you’re short on time, head to the shop and buy your favourite biscuits: digestives, shortbread, graham crackers, ginger nuts – or a combination of these – all work really well.
MONTE CARLO BISCUIT CRUST
350g Monte Carlo Biscuit dough (see p30 for recipe)
75g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing.
Method
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Make the dough according to the instructions on p30. Rest and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before baking. Crumble up the dough rather than rolling it out and bake on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 10–12 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. Set aside to cool a little, but make sure it remains liquid. Place the biscuit chunks in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. On the lowest speed, crush the biscuits until they are coarse but not sandy. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Grease a 20 x 5cm (8 x 2in) fluted tart tin. Tip the biscuit mixture into the tin and use your fingertips or the back of a spoon to press it down to make a smooth, even base. With the side of your index finger, gently press the biscuit mixture into the edges of the tin to create a fluted shape on the inside as well as the outside. Check to make sure there are no holes. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and leave to cool. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 120°C (250°F)
BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE
87.5g caster (superfine) sugar
250g full-fat cream cheese
100g whole eggs (approx. 2 eggs)
75g soured cream or crème fraîche
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
150g fresh blueberries
Crème fraîche, to serve
I love making this in a food processor – it’s so fast and it makes the cheesecake incredibly smooth. Put all the ingredients except the blueberries in the food processor and pulse until smooth. You can also use a stand mixer or a stick blender. Place your prepared biscuit base on a baking tray and cover the base with half the blueberries. Pour over the cheesecake mixture and then sprinkle the remaining berries on top. Carefully place in the oven, trying not to tilt the tray as you don’t want to spill any of the mixture over the edges. Bake for 1 hour. To check it’s cooked to perfection, jiggle the tray – the very centre of the cheesecake should wobble. If it’s too jiggly, bake for a little longer. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature. I think this cheesecake tastes best at room temperature, but it’s also great straight from the fridge, so happy days all around, really! Remove from the tin – if it gets a little stuck, pop it back in the oven for a few minutes to warm up the edges and that should do the trick. Cut into 8 slices and serve with a generous dollop of crème fraîche.
MONTE CARLO BISCUIT
180g cultured unsalted butter, softened (you can use uncultured if needed)
100g light brown muscovado sugar
50g whole eggs (approx. 1 egg)
180g self-raising flour
180g plain (all-purpose) flour
1g sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and egg until softened, thick, glossy and emulsified. Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and add the flours a third at a time. Mix until the dough comes together. Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and knead a little to make sure it is well combined. Halve the dough and roll each piece into a log. Place each log between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to 2mm thick (roughly the thickness of this book’s cover). Tidy up the edges with a ruler and a knife, then cut into two rectangles measuring 30 x 25cm (12 x 10in). Place on a baking tray, between the sheets of baking paper, and freeze until ready to bake. Place a silicone mat on top of the biscuits (baking paper still on) – this will stop them puffing up in the oven. Bake for 11 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the silicone mat and allow to cool. Line a 30 x 25cm (12 x 10in) deep-sided tray with two layers of cling film (plastic wrap) and a piece of baking paper cut to overlap the sides of the tray – this will help you remove the ice cream sandwich later on. Remove the top sheet of baking paper from one of the biscuits. Using a small, serrated knife, trim the biscuit to fit the base of the tray. Gently lower the biscuit into the tray and place in the freezer.