Cook Time 1 hr 10 mins
Total Time 1 hr 40 mins
Lemon Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake - two extremely complimentary flavours come together deliciously when a blueberry compote gets swirled through a creamy lemon cheesecake.
Course: Dessert
Servings: 16 servings
Author: Barry C. Parsons
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Compote
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
⅓ cup sugar
1 tbsp slightly rounded corn starch
1 ounce water
For the cookie crumb crust
1⅓ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
⅓ cup melted butter
For the cheesecake batter
3 eight ounce packages of cream cheese (3 cups in total)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 2 lemons very finely minced you can use less of you prefer milder lemon flavour
1 cup whipping cream
For the Vanilla Whipped Cream (optional)
1 cup whipping cream
3 tsp rounded icing sugar powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To prepare the Blueberry Compote
Prepare the blueberry compote at least an hour ahead of the cheesecake batter so that it has an opportunity to cool.
Slowly simmer the berries and sugar over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Dissolve the corn starch in the water and slowly pour into the boiling berries stirring constantly until thickened.
Cool completely.
To prepare the cookie crumb crust
Simply mix the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter well and press evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
I like to line the bottom with parchment paper to easily release the cheesecake from the pan when it is cool.
To prepare the cheesecake batter
Cream together the cream cheese and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Finally blend in the whipping cream well until the batter is very smooth. Using a rubber bowl scraper/spatula, scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl as well as the electric beaters/paddle and give the batter a final beating for 1 minute on a higher
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speed. This final step ensures that there are no lumps in the batter and introduces a little air into the cheesecake to make it lighter.
Pour over the prepared base and drop teaspoonfuls of the blueberry compote over the surface of the batter.
With the handle of a wooden spoon, and being careful not to hit the bottom crust layer, swirl the compote through the cheesecake batter.
Bake in a bain marie at 300 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary slightly. Mine takes the full 70 minutes and you can go to 75 if you feel you need to.)
Don't be an compulsive oven door opener! Don't open it at all in the first hour.
The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.
Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before moving it to the fridge to chill completely.
To prepare the Vanilla Whipped cream
Simply beat all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer until firm peaks form.
Pipe the prepared cream around the perimeter of the cheesecake.
Recipe Notes
In my opinion, baking the perfect cheesecake requires the use of a bain marie during baking. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center.
I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 inch spring form pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in. The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake. Wrapping the bottom of the pan in plastic wrap before the foil is added is also a good idea. The temperature doesn't get hot enough to melt it and it doesn't come into contact with the cheesecake anyway. The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan; I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from ½ to ⅔ of the way to the top.I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven as you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil. I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe.
EVEN IF YOU CHOOSE NOT USE A BAIN MARIE still use the aluminum foil wrap around the cheesecake pan. The aluminum foil still offers a good buffer to the heat. High heat and baking too quickly is the main reason that a cheesecake becomes dense and not creamy.
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