Ingredients

• 150g/5½oz butter
• melted
• plus extra for greasing
• 300g/10½oz digestive biscuits
• crushed
• 1 vanilla pod
• seeds scraped out
• 1 lemon
• zest and juice
• 200g/7oz caster sugar
• 50g/1¾oz cornflour
• 850g/1lb 4oz full-fat cream cheese
• 375ml/13fl oz double cream
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 250g/9oz blueberries
• 250g/7oz blueberries
• 100g/3½oz caster sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm/9in springform cake tin with baking parchment.
• For the baked blueberry cheesecake
• melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the crushed biscuits and mix.
• Tip into the prepared tin and press the crumbs down firmly and evenly to form a bottom crust. Bake for 10 minutes
• then set aside to cool completely.
• Place the vanilla seeds
• lemon zest and juice
• caster sugar
• cornflour
• cream cheese and cream in a large glass bowl and whisk together.
• Add the eggs continually whisking until the mixture is smooth
• then add the blueberries and stir carefully.
• Pour onto the baked base and tap the tin lightly against the work surface to settle the mixture into the tin. Wrap the outside of the tin in a double thickness of foil if you are concerned about the tin’s water-tightness.
• Place the cake into a deep roasting tin containing 2cm/1in hot water.
• Bake in the oven for 1¼-1½ hours or until the cheesecake is golden-brown and just set.
• Turn the heat off in the oven and leave the cake in the oven for at least two hours or preferably overnight.
• For the blueberry compôte
• place the blueberries and sugar into a sauce pan and cook until the sauce thickens.
• Serve the cooled cheesecake in slices with the blueberry compote.