Recipes

Le Creuset Baking Recipe: Blueberry Ombre Shortbread Cheesecake

Updated: July 22, 2022

Feast your eyes and tantalise your taste buds with this beautiful creamy dessert that is perfect for a teatime treat.

Need a stunning dessert for your tea party? This delicious cheesecake features gorgeous layers of lilac, violet, and deep purple colours, and is sure to delight and impress guests. The luscious and smooth cheesecake pairs perfectly with fresh blueberries and the shortbread base is heavenly with every bite. Make this surprisingly easy to make cheesecake recipe for special events or on the days when you need some extra sweetness in your life.

Serve this beautiful cheesecake in an equally gorgeous baking dish to elevate your table setting. We used the Le Creuset Stoneware Heritage Deep Rectangular Dish to perfectly complement our ombre cheesecake while doubling as a beautiful centrepiece on the table.

Top Cheesecake Tips

Whether you’re new at baking or looking to improve your baking skills, these top tips will equip you with the essential skills to bake perfect cheesecakes like a pro!

Use high quality ingredients like full-fat cream cheese to create a smoother, richer cheesecake
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature as they are easier to mix. This ensures your cheesecake mix is combined properly with no lumps.
Mix your batter with a hand mixer on low setting to avoid overmixing. Overmixing incorporates too much air in your batter which might cause cracking in your cheesecake.
Scrape the sides of your mixing bowl to ensure your cheesecake batter is thoroughly mixed and no cheesecake gets stuck on the walls of your mixing bowl.
Use a water bath for your cheesecake to keep your cheesecake moist and prevent cracking of your cheesecake. Make sure water does not leak into your cake by wrapping a layer of aluminium around the outer side of your pan.
Avoid baking your cheesecake directly under the heating element as too much heat might cause cracks in your cheesecakes. Place your cheesecake in the middle of the middle rack for the best temperature for your cheesecake
Do not open the oven while it bakes as it will allow steam to escape, causing the temperature to fluctuate. This may result in a deflated or unevenly baked cheesecake.
To know if your cake is done, do a wobble test! Give your cake a shake and if it jiggles in the middle, it’s done! It might look undercooked but the residual heat will cook the cake completely.
Let your cheesecake cool on a cooling rack for about an hour or two. Then, let it chill overnight in the fridge to set properly before serving!

Ingredients

For the cheesecake base:

200g plain flour
130g unsalted butter
65g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake topping:

4 pack of 250g cream cheese
1 sachet gelatin 12g dissolved in 8 tablespoons of cold water
250ml double cream
250g blueberry jam

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C or with Fan 180°C or Gas Mark 6
First, make the base. Combine all the base ingredients in a food processor. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and bring the dough together to form a soft dough.
Then, line the baking dish with baking paper and press in the dough. Level and smooth the base using the back of a spoon, ensuring it is well pressed into the edges and corners.
Once that is done, prick several times using a fork and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until baked through and lightly golden on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully.
In the meantime, make the cheesecake mixture. Combine the cream cheese, gelatin, double cream and 75g of the blueberry jam.
To make the ombre effect, remove two thirds of the mixture, place in another bowl with another 75g jam and mix well. Finally, take out half of the new mixture and combine with another 50g jam. You should now have three blueberry cream mixtures in different tones of purple.
On top of the cooled base, layer the mixtures carefully with the lightest in colour mixture at the bottom. Smooth with a spatula before adding the next layer of mixture, being careful not to blend the colours too much. Finish with the final mixture before topping with the remaining 50g jam.
Place in the fridge and set for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
Slice and serve with fresh blueberries.
If you don't have the time to bake and cool the base, simply use a packet of crushed up biscuits blended with 80g melted butter. Press into the dish and allow to set in the oven for 30 minutes.