Blueberry Shortbread Cheesecake Recipes

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Place shelf in middle of oven.
• Line inverted base: Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly then press on a square piece of parchment/baking paper. Then clip into the springform pan - excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
• Line sides: Butter and line the side of the pan.
• Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
• Blitz until fine crumbs. Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.(Note 5)
• Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
• Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I use a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
• Cream cheese: Use a stand mixer (with paddle) or handheld beater to beat the cream cheese until just smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You do not want to aerate cheesecake filling too much as it causes cracks when it bakes)
• Add flour, beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just incorporated.
• Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 sec max, speed 4).
• Eggs: Add eggs one at a time - beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 in between each. After the last egg, beat as needed until batter is smooth - but stop beating immediately once smooth.
• Blueberries: Stir in blueberries with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared crust.
• Bake: Bake for 70 minutes. The top should be a bit puffed, very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan, see video at 1 min 23 sec (sets in next step).
• Cool: Cool the cake in the oven with the door open approx 20 cm / 8" for about 2 hours (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan or overnight. Cake will sink and surface should be flat.
• Release: Remove sides of springform pan. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan base. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
• Place 1 cup of blueberries (125g/4oz), vanilla, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 7 minutes until blueberries breakdown.
• Mix cornflour and water, then stir in - it wil thicken quickly.
• Stir in remainig blueberries. Sauce should be syrupy - remove from stove and cool. Will thicken as it cools.
• Once cool, stir. Adjust thickness 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time to make it the perfect "oozing" consistency (see video, Note 7) - be careful, don't make it runny!
• Spoon onto cheesecake so it's completely covered - you'll have maybe 1/2 cup sauce left, good for touch ups. Refrigerate 2 hours+.
• Slice and serve!

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter. Pat mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
• Mash cream cheese until soft and creamy. Gradually beat in sour cream, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla and flour. Beat in eggs one at a time.
• Pour mixture into crumb-lined pan. Bake in a preheated 325 degree F (165 degrees C) oven for 1 hour or until firm to the touch.
• Cool and then remove cake from pan by loosening edges with a knife. Place frozen blueberries on top of cake. Melt jelly and spoon over blueberries to glaze. Chill until ready to serve.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat it to 325°F.
• Boil water: Fill a kettle or a large pot with water and cover it with a lid. Bring it up to a boil over high heat while you prepare the cheesecake filling. You will use the boiling water to create a hot water bath to bake the cheesecake.
• Bake the cheesecake: Bake the cheesecake until slightly puffed up around the edges and 2 to 3 inches in the center is slightly jiggly (resembling Jell-O), about 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the oven door about 1 inch. You can use a wooden spoon to prop the door open. Let the cheesecake finish setting in the oven until there is barely any jiggle left in the center, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Loosely cover it with a clean kitchen towel and refrigerate it until fully cooled, at least 6 hours. The cheesecake will firm up and no longer jiggle in the center.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a bowl whisk cream cheese until smooth and whisk in eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Evenly spread preserves over hot shortbread and pour cream-cheese mixture over it. Bake in middle of oven until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut into 24 bars. Bar cookies keep, covered and chilled, 3 days.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS (SHORTBREAD CRUST)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes. In a food processor, add cubed butter, flour, brown sugar, and salt.
• Process until mixture forms small lumps.
• Sprinkle into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan, pressing down with spatula to form crust.
• Bake in the middle of oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• In a bowl whisk cream cheese until smooth then add eggs, white sugar and vanilla.
• Evenly spread preserves over hot shortbread for traditional look then cover with cheesecake mixture. For a more stable bar, mix preserves into batter.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate at least 3 hours ( good luck with that step).