O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.
𓏲𝄢
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen*
Made with a buttery shortbread cookie crust, topped with or without jellied strawberries, decorated with pressed spring wildflowers or fresh herbs, lovely for Christmas, a berry merry beautiful cheesecake.
Berry Cheesecake
simple to make with or without jellied berry topping
Ingredients
Crust
- 200 g shortbread cookies
- 50 g unsalted butter
Filling
- 904 g cream cheese whole fat, room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 240 g sour cream whole fat, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 eggs room temperature
Optional Jellied Berry Topping
- 80 g packet of strawberry jelly powder follow instructions to prepare with water
- 350 g fresh strawberries sliced, approximate to taste
Instructions
Crust
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 177C/350F.
- Using a food processor or blender, grind shortbread cookies into fine crumbs. Pour in melted butter and using a rubber spatula or spoon combine. Mixture will be sandy. Try to break up any large chunks.
- Pour butter cookie mix into a 20cm/8in springform pan. Using your hand, pat crumbs down into the bottom and partly up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumbly.
- Pre-bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place hot pan on a large piece of aluminum foil. Foil will wrap around pan for water bath. Allow crust to cool slightly as you prepare filling.
Filling
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon juice, beat until fully combined.
- On medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After final egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. To help prevent cheesecake from deflating and cracking as it cools, avoid over-mixing the batter.
Prepare water bath
- Boil a pot of water, about 1 kettle. You'll need water up to approximately 2cm/1in in your roasting pan for water bath, so make sure you boil enough. As water heats up, wrap aluminum foil around springform pan, covering all bottom and wrapping up to sides.
- Place springform pan inside a large roasting pan or baking sheet with slightly tall edges. Pour cheesecake batter on top of crust. Use rubber spatula or spoon to smooth into an even layer. Place baking sheet and pan in oven middle rack. Carefully pour hot water in baking sheet.Â
- Bake cheesecake for 55–70 minutes or until center is almost set. If you notice cheesecake browning too quickly on top, tent it with aluminum foil halfway through baking.
- When done, center of cheesecake will slightly wobble when pan is gently shaken. Turn oven off and open door slightly. Allow cheesecake to sit in oven in water bath for 1 hour as it cools down.
- Remove cheesecake from oven and water bath, fully cool uncovered at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. **If topping with jellied berries, this must be done before chilling so that cheesecake and gelatin set together.**
- Once chilled, use knife to carefully loosen chilled cheesecake from springform pan rim and remove rim. Use sharp knife to cut into slices for serving. For neat slices, wipe the knife clean and dip into warm water between each slice.
- If not adding optional jellied fruit, you may decorate cheesecake with toppings of choice, such as fresh berries and herbs (red currant and rosemary pictured here).
- Cover and refrigerate leftover cheesecake for up to 5 days.
Optional Jellied Berry Topping
- Carefully add sliced strawberries to top of cheesecake, gently pushing them in very slightly so they stick. Try to cover as much surface as possible.
- Following package instructions, prepare strawberry jelly. Carefully pour room temperature syrup over berries, just enough to cover the fruit. Refrigerate entire cheesecake for 4 hours or overnight.
*Hymn Notes via Overview
The phrase “God rest you merry” means “may God grant you peace and happiness”. It’s a common way to pass on a blessing to someone, similar to the Jewish blessing “Shalom”. The phrase has been used in literature and letters since the 1500s. In the carol “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” the phrase is used in the context of remembering the birth of Christ and the joy that brings.
God rest you merry,
perpetually and increasingly peaceful, joyful and gracious.
