From Farm to Fork: Try my wild blueberry cheesecake...

I love growing  fruit in my vegetable garden and have had great success with everything from peaches to  strawberries. Mostly, I like to make homemade jams, when I'm feeling in need of a little comfort food.  But for something a little more indulgent, this organic blueberry cheesecake is surprisingly easy to make and never fails to impress. In recent years, the humble blueberry has created quite a buzz with research  claiming that it aids cardiovascular health, cancer prevention and aging. 

They are surprisingly easy to grow and there's nothing more satisfying than simply plucking a handful from your garden and returning to the kitchen where they can be sprinkled on top of porridge, added to a smoothie or used in simple jams . This recipe is in fact originally from Finland, where they certainly know a thing or two about using their abundance of berries. In the soft fruit season, you can use  a myriad of  fruits from your organic garden gooseberries, redcurrants, raspberries equally effectively to create this tasty dish.

The fact that it uses natural fruit sugar instead of normal sugar means that the flavour of the fruit is accentuated – something which many of our top chefs  in the UK & Ireland have been using for some time. 

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE
(serves 8-10)

115g butter
250g self-raising flour
100g Fruit sugar ( available in any health food store)
2 egg yolks

Filling:
400g blueberries
25g Fruit Sugar

Topping:
2 egg whites
50g Fruit Sugar
200g cream cheese
½ teaspoonful vanilla sugar

1. In a bowl, cut the butter into small pieces and then add flour and rub fat into it until it turns into fine breadcrumbs.
2. Mix together the fruit sugar and egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of water.
3. Add to flour and mix to a soft doug but if it's still a little dry  add a tablespoon of water.
4. Spread the mixture into a spring clip tin with a diameter of 20 cm. Sprinkle the blueberries and fruit sugar on top of it.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add the fruit sugar and beat for one minute.
6. In a bowl beat the cream cheese and then stir in the egg whites.
7. Spread the mixture over the blueberries. Bake at fan oven 180C: electric oven 200°C: gas mark 6 for 40 - 45 minutes.
8. Leave to cool and serve with a scattering of fresh  organic blueberries to garnish. Delicious.