My first attempt incorporated fresh pureed berries, but they turned the cake itself a sad shade of bluish gray that was less than appetizing. Even with a hearty dose of food coloring, the color (nor the [lack-of] flavor) wasn’t quite what I envisioned.
But as I learned with this roasted blueberry ice cream, the act of roasting the berries greatly intensifies both the color and flavor. It’s the secret to coaxing out the best of this perplexing little berry. So I doubled the amount of berries and roasted them down with a bit of maple syrup until they were bubbling with flavorful juices. The pureed roasted berries are what give this cheesecake its vibrant color: no food coloring necessary.
My second cheesecake was perfect in that respect, the base at least, but I decided it needed a glaze. So I topped my perfectly purple cheesecake with a simple powdered sugar glaze (the kind you’d drizzle on cinnamon rolls or spread on sugar cookies), even going so far as to swirl in a bit of blueberry for color, and waited for it to set.
Except it didn’t set. On the surface, maybe, the glaze deceivingly crusting over, but underneath lay a molten mass that no amount of time or patience or hasty refrigeration could fix.
I finally got impatient and sliced into it, hoping for the best. I barely got the slice to the table before it started oozing. And it continued to ooze like the wicked witch of the west, dropping dollops of viscous glaze onto every surface within reach.
I almost gave up, right then and there, but I could still see the potential this cake had, even under all that gooey glaze.
