Blueberry & Lemon Cheesecake

I'm not going to write a whole intro to this recipe because basically I've baked this for the sheer fun of it. I wanted to bake and since I yearn for more springlike (or better yet summery) weather, I made this blueberry and lemon cheesecake. Both flavours represent sunny weather for me and they go together so incredibly well! 

Also, I don't feel like preaching about gluten free all the time. This luxurious and rich cheese cake is my way of saying: see... living gluten free ain't so bad. You can have cheese cake & eat it all! 

Here's how it turned out.

Yeah, I know.... it tastes as good as it looks, I promise!

Ingredients:

Base

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of soft butter
• 50 grams (1.75 oz) of raw cane sugar
• 200 grams  (7 oz) of gluten free rice flour

Cheesecake

• 600 grams (1 lb 5 oz)of softened cream cheese, softened
• 200 grams (7 oz) of sugar
• 15 grams (0.5 oz)of vanilla sugar
• 85 grams (3 oz) of sticky rice flour (gluten free) 
• half a teaspoon of baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 125 ml (4 fl oz) of sour cream
• grated zest of one lemon
• juice of one lemon
• 200 grams (7 oz) of fresh blueberries

Lemon & cream cheese frosting

• 100 grams (3.5 oz) of cream cheese, room temperature
• 50 grams (3.5 oz) of butter, room temperature
• 50 ml (2 fl oz) of sour cream
• 250 grams (9 oz) of powdered sugar
• grated zest of one lemon
• lemon juice 2 tablespoons
• about 100 grams (3.5 oz) of blueberries for decoration

Instructions:

Base:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade/ 400 degrees fhrenheit
2. Line a spring cake tin with baking parchment & butter the sides
3. Mix the butter, sugar & rice flour in a bowl till you have a crumbly mixture. Pour it in the spring tin & cover the base of the spring tin pressing the mixture to form a solid base. Put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it starts to turn golden & take it out of the oven. Let it cool down.

Cream cheese filling: 

1. Reduce oven to 150 degrees centigrade / 300 degrees fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, rice flour and baking soda until combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
4. Add the sour cream, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat on low speed until well combined.  
5. Now fold in the blueberries with a spatula so they stay intact. 
6. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the (shortbread) base.
7. Place spring tin(covered with aluminum foil) in the oven.
8. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 30 minutes.
10. Remove cheesecake from oven and chill it in the refrigerator.

Decorate:

1. Combine cream cheese , sour cream and butter and mix until smooth.
2. Add lemon zest and powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
3. Add lemon juice and mix until smooth.
4. Once cheesecake is cool and firm, remove from spring tin and place on serving plate. Cover with icing. Sprinkle blueberries on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!!!