Very Berry Cheesecake

VERY BERRY CHEESECAKE

This is a terrific recipe and it received rave reviews from my entire family, over Mother's Day weekend. I'm positive I will be making this one again and again!

I followed the recipe to the letter (something very much out of the norm for me) and I suggest you do the same to get the same fabulous results! Enjoy! - Heather

Ingredients:
For crust -
butter, 3/4 cup
graham crackers, 8 ounces

For topping -
lemons, 2 - rind and juice
gelatin, 1/2-ounce envelope
cottage cheese, 1 cup
cream cheese, 1 cup
canned condensed milk, 14 ounces
strawberries, 4 cups, hulled
raspberries, 1 cup

Note: You'll need a 8-inch round, loose-bottomed, nonstick, spring-clip pan & some parchment paper, a blender or food processor, and a strainer. This also requires overnight to set up, so plan ahead if you want to make this sweet treat!

Step 1: With a pencil, draw around the bottom of an 8-inch round, loose-bottomed, nonstick spring-clip cake pan onto parchment paper. Cut out the circle and use to line the bottom of the cake pan.
Step 2: To make the base of the cake, put the butter in a pan and melt over low heat. Break the graham crackers in pieces, put them in a blender or food processor, and blend until they are crumbs. Stir into the melted butter and mix well.
Step 3: Tip the buttery crumbs into the cake pan and use a spoon to spread the mixture in a thin, even layer over the bottom, pressing down well with the back of the spoon. Put the pan in the refrigerator while you make the topping.
Step 4: To make the topping, put the lemon rind (I simply used my lemon zester here) and juice in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin. Stand the bowl in a pan of water and heat gently, until the gelatin has all melted. Stir, remove bowl from pan, and let cool.
Step 5: Drain cottage cheese in a strainer, then transfer to a blender or food processor and blend for 20 seconds. Add the cream cheese and condensed milk, cover with the lid again, and blend the mixture again until smooth.
Step 6: Pour in the dissolved gelatin mixture and blend once more.
Step 7: On a cutting board roughly chop half the strawberries with sharp knife and scatter ove the cakes cookie base with half the raspberries, reserving the rest for decoration.
Step 8: Pour the cheese mixture over the fruit. Level the top with the back of a spoon. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight, until set.
Step 9: Loosen the edges of the cheesecake with a palette knife (go around the entire edge of the pan...VERY IMPORTANT or cake will crack!). Open the side clips of the pan and slide off of cake. Put the cheesecake on a serving plate and decorate with reserved fruit!

This is a crowd pleaser for sure, so be sure to give it a try!