Mardi of Eat. Live. Travel. Write. won the last Hay Hay it’s Donna Day cooking event and is hosting this month’s Hay Hay it’s Donna Day, a food blogging event in which a blogger chooses a recipe by Australian cookbook author Donna Hay. The host/hostess of the HHDD event invites all their blog reading and cooking/ baking friends to recreate the recipe and send in a link to their blog post by the end of the month.
Mardi chose a super easy dessert recipe, Blackberry Cheesecake Pots. We love cheesecake at our house, so when Mardi asked me to participate in the challenge, I was happy to join in. Mardi will post a roundup on June 5th and ask people to vote on which interpretation they like best. She’ll announce a winner (and the next host/hostess) on June 15th.
I love blackberries and they were on sale at the market, so that was an easy choice. I almost always use reduce fat cream cheese, so that was the first change that I made. We, like many Americans, tend to like our desserts a bit sweeter, so I increased the amount of sugar I added to the cheesecake mixture.
Finally, as far as I’m concerned, cheesecake needs a graham cracker crust. So I decided to add a layer of graham cracker crumbs to the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of blackberries and then topped with the cheesecake mixture, a little whipped cream, more graham cracker crumbs and a perfect blackberry on top. A quick, elegant and delicious dessert.
Blackberry Cheesecake Pots
4 graham crackers
1 T. butter, melted
8 oz. light cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. fresh blackberries
Preheat oven to 350º. Process the graham crackers in a food processor to create crumbs. Add melted butter, stir well to combined. Spread on baking sheet. Toast in the oven 3 – 5 minutes until crumbs start to brown. Cool.
Process the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add half the blackberries and process until just crushed.
Spoon a tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs into four 1/2 cup-capacity dishes, layer on a few blackberries. Divide cheesecake mixture evenly between the dishes and garnish with whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs and blackberries. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Serves 4.
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Barbacoa Salad
I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies.
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Fabulous Barbara and I love the addition of the graham cracker crumbs – I think it really completes this as a dessert. Of course, you could add granola and eat this for breakfast too! ;-) Thanks for playing! Beautiful pictures too!
Such a gorgeous color! I want to dig on in. Yum!
Love the color and so refreshing. Thanks for sharing.
Joyce
It sounds delicious!!!Very nice colours,flavour and pictures too! you are very very good.have a nice day!
That looks so yummy and tempting that I almost took a bite out of the computer screen-lol. Very pretty and colorful. I am a firm believer that "looks" contribute to the enjoyment of a dish:)
Barbara, this looks delish!!!
I just drooled on myself. These are pretty, easy and I want to dig into one now! Yummy.
Sounds great Barbara!
Oh, these look so good. There are so many great berries in the market this time of year. I love that you toasted the graham crackers.
Hello! What a very beautiful interpretation/creation! We love blackberry here at our house and my kids, especially, can't get enough of cheesecake. Oddly, it never dawned on me to try out the reduced fat cream cheese, but I should probably start trying to reduce the fat around here! Particularly if the end result is just as creamy and delicious! Thanks a lot!
So beautiful and such a striking color! I've got to try this one… Great photo!
I love the gorgeous color and now I cannot wait until my blackberries start growing so I can make this. It looks so decadent!
These are so pretty, Barbara! The color from the blackberries is beautiful, but I also love how you presented it!
I love your added touch of graham crackers and use of blackberries. Este postre tiene un aspecto perfecto.
Wow, is that a beautiful dessert. Adding graham cracker crumbs was a nice touch. I always associate them with the cheesecakes I like best.
What a scrumptious dessert Barbara! So vibrant – and pretty to look at too. I like the graham crumbs – nice touch.
These look super yummy and perfect for the berry season!
What a beautiful looking treat! Love these flavors.
What a beautiful dessert! I love ANY cheesecake and I agree that the graham cracker crumbs are a must.
Gorgeous dessert! All that berry flavor, creamy cheesecake and graham cracker crumbs.Yum!
Mimi
Hehe you and I are definitely on the same wavelegth mum! I'm going to do something with blackberries today! :D xxx
Beautiful dessert and presentation.
These are beautiful Barbara! I bet they taste incredible :) Stumbled!
I love cheesecake too! Love the way you present this lovely dessert ;))
Barbara…in love wit the color….between cool recipe.
blackberries added such a nice color to your festive treat..yum
sweetlife
it's beautiful..the color is beautiful and lovely presentation too! Yummy!
wow love the colour and flavours. Cheesecake in a pot – genius. Perfect for summer :)
This looks very refreshing with it beautiful colour and creamy look. Must be very delicious. I love it.
Cheesecake without a graham cracker crust is like a night without stars. Tragic.
These cheesecake pots look delicious. Perfect with the fruity twist the blackberries give them!
I love everything about these, the color, the presentation, all of it!
Marvelous recipe, Barbara! I love desserts like this…you can use lovely summer fruits and make it ahead of time. The blackberries give it such a lovely color!
The layered effect with the graham cracker crumbs sounds great! I love the color from the blackberries too.
What a lovely dessert!
These look divine, but after a 12 hour day this post is just torture! I need it!
I love it! I totally agree on wanting things sweet and that cheesecake always needs graham cracker crust :D. It looks really good!
These are just beautiful! I love the color and they look thick and creamy. I also love the crumbs you've added for the added flavor and crunch. Great dessert, Barbara!
This is such a gorgeous looking dessert Barbara. You know I tried once to make cheesecake with a regular sweet pastry, it didn't really work as well. So definitely use graham crackers, either homemade (which is better), or store bought if I am in a hurry.
Have a nice weekend Barbara.
Elra
This dessert looks as beautiful as I'm certain it will taste!
I think I'll make mine with some vanilla wafers!
You know…chocolate graham crackers would be good too!
jessyburke88@gmail.com
I like the combination of the flavors and also the colors are so pretty! I want to scoop it now!
Yum, I just got a big batch of Blackberries that I need to do something with. This is perfect!
Barbara, I am so glad you participated in this round of HHDD. I love what you did with your cheesecake cups. I thought about adding graham cracker crumbs as well or biscotti crumbs but then changed my mind last minute – really was a bit lazy to ground the crumbs!