Blackberry half-cheesecake

This year we had an enormous harvest of blackberries. I put blackberries into literally every dish I made: into fruit salads, milkshakes, smoothies, buns... This particular recipe was just an experiment: I was playing with ingredients trying to use another batch of blackberries which I picked in my garden, and the cake turned out so nice that my husband ate it all and demanded another one next day.

Why half-cheesecake? Well, because that's what it is: it is not exactly a cheesecake in a traditional view, but it does contain enough cream-cheese in it to claim some of the the fame.

Texture-wise it's so soft and tender that it melts in your mouth. And blackberries give it a fresh fruit ting, not to mention a stunning colour which will make this cheesecake a centrepiece on your table. I hope you will like it just as we did!

Blackberry half-cheesecake

Recipe

Cheesecake:
400 g of blackberries (I used fresh)
150 ml of double cream
250 g of cream-cheese
2 eggs (divided)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of semolina
1/4 cup of AP flour
1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

Ganache:
150 ml of cream
100 g of dark chocolate
100 g of milk chocolate
3 Tbsp of agave nectar (you can replace it with any flower honey)

Heat blackberries in a saucepan over medium heat till they are soft and the juice released from the berries just start to bubble. Remove from the heat and puree berries with a blender. Strain through a sieve to get rid of seeds. To the puree add cream, sugar and cream-cheese.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Keep the whites for the time being in the fringe. Add yolks to the mixture and blend well.

Add semolina to the mixture and let sit for one hour. Do not omit this step! Semolina needs some soaking time in order to become soft. After one hour add flour to the mixture.

Finally take your egg whites from the fridge and whisk them with cream of tartar to stiff peaks. Using a spatula carefully fold whites into your batter. Pour the batter into a greased spring form tin (mine is 24cm in diametre) and bake for 55 minutes at 180C. Unlike a proper cheesecake where the centre should still be wobbly when you finish baking, this half-cheesecake should be springy to the touch.

Once the cake is baked, cool it completely in the tin.

Make ganache: melt all the ingredients together in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Pour on top of the cake and put it in the fridge. Chill for 3-4 hours (or better overnight).

Enjoy!