I met Allison 6 years ago in Sydney, Australia where we studied Design together at The College of Fine Arts. We both had a great passion for the chicken schnitzel sandwiches they sold across the road from COFA (with caramelised carrots of course) as well as food in general. Recently I’ve taken my passion for food and cooking to the next level by starting my own baking business “The Bearded Patissier” selling baked goods to people in my area, cakes, tarts, macarons, and desserts all give me an opportunity to combine my love for good design and art with good food.

June 2015: The Bearded Patissier & Amcarmen’s Kitchen on Graduation Day

Here’s my recipe for gluten free blueberry cheesecakes. Making them in a tart means you have a great ratio of biscuit to cheesecake and I would happily just eat the base by itself too – it makes a great (healthy) gluten free cookie!

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINS* | SERVES 12 TARTS

*Includes a minimum of 1 hour chilling time

INGREDIENTS

For the base

• 150g almond meal
• 75g unsalted butter, cubed
• 40g caster sugar
• 40g raw sugar
• 1/4 cup fine rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 tbsp cornflour
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

For the blueberry and pomegranate jam

• 2 x 125g punnets fresh blueberries
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molases
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

For the cheesecake

• 250g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 1/2 cup syrup from jam (see recipe below)
• 2 tsp gelatine powder, dissolved in 3 tsp of water
• 1/4 caster sugar

METHOD

1. Base: add all the ingredients for the base into a mixer with the paddle attachment.
2. Mix on a low speed until fine crumbs start to form, and the butter is well combined into the mixture. Continue mixing until larger crumbs start to form, it should look similar to the size of granola, but don’t let it fully combine into a ball of dough.
3. Press half a tablespoon of the mix into lose bottomed 3-inch tart shells making sure it is an even thickness across the whole tin. The mixture should cover 12 tins. Alternatively you can also make one large cheesecake in a big tin.
4. Bake in a 160C fan-forced oven for 12-15 minutes until evenly golden in colour.
5. Allow tarts to cool fully before removing them from their casing. You may have to press them flat a bit after they come out of the oven while they are still hot.
6. Blueberry and Pomegranate Jam: add all the ingredients into a pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until thickened.
7. Strain out half a cup of the syrup while still warm and add in the gelatine mixture for the cheesecake. Allow to cool slightly and if you want the bits of blueberry in the cheese cake just measure out without straining. Reserve the rest for topping the cheesecake.
8. Cheesecake: while the blueberry and gelatine mix is cooling, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth, making sure no lumps are left on the sides of the bowl as these will not mix in later and leave you with lumps in your mix.
9. Beat in the cream, and then gently fold through the cooled blueberry gelatine syrup.
10. Spoon tablespoons of the filling into the tart shells and refrigerate for an hour minimum.
11. Top the cheese cakes with reserved jam and fresh blueberries or flowers. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Copyright © 2017 | thebeardedpatissier

BON APPÉTIT

– Simon Swadling aka The Bearded Patissier