Fruit – Can i substitute frozen berries when the cheesecake calls for fresh

fruitsubstitutions

I would like to make the following cheesecake recipe. It uses fresh raspberries to add flavor. I only have access to frozen berries. I can defrost the frozen ones I have, but there's a lot more liquid now than in the fresh ones. Can I substitute frozen berries?

Also, if I wanted to add berry juice to add more berry flavor (and a nice color) would that work?

Recipe from here: http://s-vick.blogspot.co.za/2013/04/gordon-ramsays-ultimate-cookery-course_11.html

550g cream cheese, at room temperature.
160g Caster Sugar.
3 Eggs, lightly beaten.
2 tbsp Plain Flour.
Finely grated zest of 1 Lemon.
200g Raspberries.

Preheat the oven to 180C and butter a 23 cm spring-foam cake tin.
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the beaten eggs bit by bit until combined. Add the flour and lemon zest, then fold through the raspberries.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin, tapping it against the work surface to remove any bubbles and help the raspberries rise up from the bottom. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until set on the edges but wobbling slightly in the middle.
Once cooked, remove from the tin, running knife around the edges to loosen if necessary, and serve.

Best Answer

The raspberries should work if you strain them thoroughly and fold them in very carefully so they don't break apart. Adding the liquid to the cheesecake will noticeably alter the texture, probably making it mushy; note that there aren't any water based ingredients in the recipe which you could substitute raspberry syrup for. I wouldn't recommend it. If you wanted to add raspberry flavor to a cheesecake, your best bet would be a raspberry pastry flavoring oil. If you didn't want to waste that liquid (and why would you,) just drizzle it on top of each slice as you serve it.