baked cheesecake with raspberry compote

Talk about a simple recipe! This dessert is baked in the oven rather than just chilled in the fridge, so more of a New York/American style. But yep, tasty nonetheless! It isn't as sweet as a typical cheesecake so needs the extra kick & sweetness of the fresh berries I think. Preparation only takes around 5 minutes, and then just whack it in the oven to do it's thing. And the raspberry compote only takes 5 minutes too. I said it was easy didn't I?!

Ingredients

• 800g cream cheese (Philadelphia or similar)
• 200ml double cream, whisked until it thickens slightly & turns glossy
• 3 eggs
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g fresh raspberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C (fan 170C) / 375F / gas mark 5
2. Lightly grease a 23cm springform cake tin with butter or oil.
3. Whisk the cream cheese until fluffy, then add the cream, eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract, and mix in until well combined.
4. Pour into the cake tin & place in the middle of the oven for around 40 minutes, until the cheesecake starts to colour on top. It may also crack a little but that's completely normal!
5. Allow to cool completely in the tin (it will firm up a little and make slicing much easier).
6. For the compote, just place the raspberries in a small pan with the icing sugar and heat up over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. The raspberries will soften & start to turn mushy - that's when they're done!
7. To serve, place a slice of cheesecake on a plate and drizzle the warm compote on & around, before getting stuck in.

Serves 10-12.