The wonderful world of cheesecakes...

Wee! 11 new recipes this past week - the standouts for us were the Northwest Waldorf Salad, Sausage and Pepper Calzones, and the Tropical Banana Cream Muffins. I can't believe how fast summer is approaching... just a couple more weeks and it will be June already! The bigger farmer's market opened last weekend, but we've just been too busy to check it out - we hope to make a visit next weekend though if time allows!

I've mentioned before that I have a fairly large stash of wild blueberries in the freezer as I have some everyday with yogurt. I'm trying to make a dent in my supply, so I've been searching through my endless (it seems anyways!) piles of recipes and found this Blueberry Cheesecake that I set aside some time ago to make. I always wonder why I don't make large cheesecakes more often when I finally get around to putting one together, but I think it seems like more of a hassle than it really is. We've done several cheesecake bars or individual ones, but I think I've only posted two large cheesecakes we've made. I went through the archives to see which two they were and fondly remembered the Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake with Oreo Crust



and of course the Caramel Swirl-and-Apple Cheesecake.

Now that I've veered off course, let's get back to this recipe! Instead of a full graham cracker base, this one uses half graham cracker and half vanilla wafers to add of punch of flavor to the crust. The filling is just a basic cream cheese batter, but what makes this one very special is a homemade smooth blueberry sauce that is swirled into the top of the very pale yellow batter. I opted to bake this cheesecake in a water bath to ensure a smooth top, but you don't have to be as fussy as there is a topping that gets applied and will cover any cracks that may happen. When the cheesecake is firm, but still has lovely jiggle in the center when the pan is touched, a mixture of vanilla-scented sweetened sour cream is spread over the hot cheesecake. It is placed back in the oven just long enough so the two meld together. I made this yesterday, for dessert tonight, because the cheesecake needs to cool to room temperature and then must be chilled for at least 8 hours - don't skimp as the flavors need that time to develop.

Remember that homemade blueberry sauce? A portion of that thick dark blue mixture is reheated, sweetened and thinned out with just a bit of water to make a mouthwatering blueberry drizzle for each individual slice. For some juicy texture, whole blueberries are gently folded into the sauce once it has thickened back up. The cheesecake itself has a dense, just luscious creamy filling that is set on a buttery, crisp vanilla crust. Besides adding a charming color to the plain cheesecake, the blueberry swirls added a fruity sweetness that held up against the tangy sour cream topping.

Can I tempt you into sharing a slice with me?

Recipes
Blueberry Cheesecake