Cheesecake with Bilberry Jewel Topping

Ingredients:

220g Vanilla wafers, crushed
50g Sugar
6 tbsp butter; melted

For the Filling:
120ml whipping cream
1 packet vanilla powder
675g cream cheese, at room temperature
200g sugar
1 pinch salt
4 large eggs

For the Topping:
360g fresh bilberries
150g sugar
120ml concentrated blackcurrant juice (eg Ribena)
60ml water

To Garnish:
Whipping cream
whole bilberries

Method:

Combine all the ingredients for the base in a cowl and stir thoroughly. Take a 22cm diameter springform cake tin and cover the base and outside with aluminium foil. Lightly butter the insides of the pan then press the crumb mix into the base and 5cm up the sides of the tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the crumb base and set aside (leave the oven on).

Beat the cream cheese until soft then add the whipping cream, vanilla powder, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth then add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. Pour the filling mix over the prepared crust then return to the oven and bake for about 50 minutes more. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature then refrigerate over night.

The following day combine all the topping ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved then bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract all the juice (this will remove the seeds and skins). Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator and spoon the warm topping evenly over the cold cake. Allow to cool then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the topping has completely set.

To serve, pipe rosettes of whipped cream around the edges of the cake. Garnish with whole bilberries and serve.