3rd Place Berry Delicious Egg Recipe Contest - 2018
Colleen Kleveno, Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
A gorgeous and flavorful cheesecake that looks a lot harder to make than it is. The berry spider-web design is actually very forgiving, as is the collar.
Crust
| 1 cup Graham cracker crumbs |
| 3 T. butter, melted |
| 1 1/2 T. sugar |
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs, butter and sugar, stirring so mixture looks like wet sand.
- Press onto the bottom of a 9" spring form pan.
- Bake for 8 min.
- Let cool before filling.
Blueberry Compote
| 1 cup fresh blueberries |
| 1/4 cup sugar |
| 1 T. lemon juice |
| 2 T. cornstarch |
| 1 T. cold water |
Directions
- In a small saucepan combine the berries, sugar, and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the berries become soft and release their juice.
- Add cornstarch and water.
- Continue cooking for 2 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, blend in a blender until smooth.
- Put into a plastic squeeze bottle. Set aside until filling is finished.
Filling
| 3 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened |
| 1/2 cup + 2 T. sugar |
| 1 teas. vanilla extract |
| 4 large eggs |
| 3/4 cup sour cream |
| 4 teas. lemon zest |
| 2 T. lemon juice |
| 4 T. flour |
Directions
- Heat oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer on medium until smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low with the mixer.
- By hand, blend in the sour cream, lemon juice, zest and flour, mixing, just until combined.
- Don't worry if bits of sour cream remain - they'll melt in baking.
- Pour filling into cooled crust.
Make the spider web design:
Pipe the blueberry compote over the top of the filling in a large spiral. Make 7-8 other spirals, getting smaller with each, keeping them equidistant. Use a clean tooth pick to drag a line from the center of cheesecake to the edge, all around. Wrap foil under and up the sides of the pan. Then place in a high sided pan or baking dish. Fill with a few cups of boiling water - about 1" high.
Bake for 60 - 65 minutes. When done, the cheesecake sides will be set but the middle will continue to jiggle slightly. Let cool in open oven for 45 minutes. Run a knife around the rim of the pan in order to loosen the cake but do not remove the springform sides. Chill in the refrigerator overnight to set. After cheesecake is set, remove sides. Decorate with a white chocolate collar, if desired, and cut with a warm knife into 8 - 12 slices
Optional Chocolate Collar
4 oz. white chocolate
Measure circumference of cheesecake. Lay a piece of parchment on counter with a piece of cellophane on top, marking the exact length and add 1" to height of cheesecake. Melt chocolate on 1/2 heat in microwave, stirring until it starts to melt - place in piping bag and snip the edge. Pipe overlapping swirls on cellophane, keeping inside the marked dimensions. Place in fridge until firm. Gently remove cellophane from parchment and wrap around sides of cheesecake, chocolate side in. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes, then gently remove cellophane from the chocolate collar. Garnish with lemon skin swirls.
