Batter:

Cup of Yum
1. Preparations: Preheat the convection/fan oven to 150 degrees Celsius/ 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter two 26 cm/ 10 inch round springforms and line them with baking parchment cut to fit them. If you bake the cake in a baking tray using double amounts of ingredients, butter two baking trays (30x40 cm/ 12x16 inches) and cover them with baking parchment. If you make the cake in the tray make the batter in two batches, otherwise, it will become difficult to mix everything properly.
2. Combine: Mix the soft butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract until white and frothy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.200 g unsalted butter/ ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon + 200 g granulated sugar/ 1 cup + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract + 4 eggs
3. Make the batter: In another small bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder and add to the butter-sugar mixture in 3-4 batches while stirring at a low speed.200 g all-purpose flour/ 1 ⅔ cups + 2 teaspoons baking powder
4. Assemble for baking: Pour half of the batter into one of the prepared forms and the other half into the other prepared form. Sprinkle each portion of batter with sliced almonds and the extra granulated sugar.100 g sliced almonds/ 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Leave the cakes in the forms for about 10 minutes, take them out and leave to cool down completely on wire racks.

Gooseberry filling:

1. Drain the canned fruit and save the juice. Measure 250 ml/ 1 cup of the juice. Add water if you don't have enough juice. Place the liquid in a small pot and bring to a boil.1 jar canned gooseberries
2. Make the slurry: Meanwhile, stir the pudding powder OR cornstarch mixture (the same amount of cornstarch mixed with a very small pinch of salt) in a small bowl with 2 or 3 tablespoons of cold water. You should have a thick yet still runny paste.1 packet vanilla pudding powder
3. Make the gooseberry filling: When the juice starts to boil, take it off the heat and whisk in the pudding or cornstarch mixture. Place back on the heat and bring to a boil again while whisking all the time. Let bubble once or twice. Remove from the heat, stir in the berries or cherries (and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract if using cornstarch instead of pudding powder), and leave to cool down a little.
4. Add filling to cake: Place one cake on a cake platter and put a cake ring around it (or a rectangular adjustable frame for the cake baked on the baking tray). Pour the berries on top and level. Let them get completely cool before adding the rest.

Cream cheese filling:

1. Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for about 10 minutes or according to the packet's instructions.4 leaves gelatin
2. Combine: In the meantime, mix the cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, and sugar in a bowl.400 g full-fat cream cheese/ 1 ¾ cup + juice of ½ lemon + 1 teaspoon lemon zest + 50 g granulated sugar/ ¼ cup
3. Dissolve gelatin: Squeeze the gelatin gently, place it in a pan (large enough to hold the cream cheese mixture as well), and dissolve it on very low heat, stirring continuously. Do not let it boil or get too hot; it will only take seconds until the gelatin is dissolved, so don't leave it unattended.
4. Mix filling: Remove from the heat, add one tablespoon from the cream cheese mixture, and stir until fully incorporated. Add another tablespoon of the mixture and incorporate it completely again. Repeat until all the cream cheese mixture is incorporated.
5. Chill briefly and add whipped cream: Place the pot with the filling in the fridge. Check often, and when the mixture STARTS to thicken, whip the heavy cream until stiff and fold it carefully into the cream cheese mixture. Pour this mixture on top of the gooseberries and level nicely.250 ml heavy cream/ 1 cup
6. Assemble gooseberry cheesecake: Cover with the second cake, press it down gently and place the cake in the fridge for several hours, ideally overnight. Remove the metal ring before serving and slice the cake. You can sprinkle it with some icing sugar if you like.