Debra Manskey

Ok, I know that NaBloPoMo is over for another year and I was going to have a break from blogging – but I had to share this with you all.

Today I spent the morning gardening, collecting eggs and picking more raspberries and this afternoon we baked a Raspberry Cheesecake and Raspberry Upside Down Cake for my birthday tomorrow. Here’s the recipes – they’re both very easy.

Raspberry Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

1 prepared biscuit base (for a 28-30cm spring form pan)

6 large eggs     3/4 cup of sugar     500g cream cheese (at room temperature)

2 cups of fresh raspberries (more if you have them)    1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

Break the eggs carefully into a blender jar, add the sugar and cover. Pulse until the eggs are frothy and the sugar is combined. Spoon the softened cream cheese in, cover and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and approximately half the raspberries and pulse. I like to do this very briefly so there are still chunks of fruit and the colour swirls through the cheesecake mix.

Pour this carefully into the prepared spring form pan and decorate with the rest of the whole fruit. Bake at 150 C (300 F) for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely and chill for at least two hours before eating.

Raspberry Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated         3/4 cup of white sugar      1 cup Self Raising flour

1/4 teas Bicarbonate of Soda    3 tabs butter    4 tabs milk   1 cup fresh raspberries

a few drops of Vanilla essence (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to about 200 C (400 F). In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter. Brush a Bundt pan with a little of this and put the raspberries evenly on the bottom. Put the Bundt pan aside while you prepare the cake batter. Add the milk to the butter and turn off the heat. Do not let this boil!

Mix the egg yolks in a small bowl and put aside while you prepare the egg whites. Beat the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until soft peaks are formed. Slowly add the sugar and beat back up to soft peak stage after each addition. Very slowly sift the flour and Bicarb in and mix it thoroughly, ensuring there’s no pockets of flour left.

Slowly pour in the now lukewarm milk and butter and fold it through. Pour this very carefully over the raspberries in the Bundt pan.

Turn the oven down to 150 C (300 F) and put the cake onto a shallow tray. Pour hot water into the tray to create a shallow water bath and bake the sponge for 25-35 minutes.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so on a cake rack before carefully turning out onto a plate. Serve slices with cream and extra fresh berries.