Best Cheesecake Recipe With Blueberry Topping

As my sister put it, “This is better than the Cheesecake Factory!” I’m a huge cheesecake fan and this is the best I’ve had. The texture is amazingly smooth and the semi-tart blueberry topping is a perfect match! It’s simple to make and difficult to screw up. I hope you give it a try!

Ingredients:

The Crust -
   1 ½  cups graham cracker crumbs (I use “Honey Maid”  crumbs – it’s cheaper & easier. Or you can use 10 crackers)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) melted, unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sugar

The Cheesecake –
   2 ½ pounds cream cheese (5 blocks – 8oz each) at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup sour cream
7 whole large eggs (at room temp)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

Blueberry Sauce: 
4 cups frozen blueberries
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar

What you will need :

A springform pan where the sides loosen and the bottom comes out.

How to Make Cheesecake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Crust: combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter – mix well. Pour into a 9 or 9 ½ inch springform pan (see picture above). Use a large spoon to press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Cheesecake filling: raise oven temp to 450 degrees.
1. Mix the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed using paddle attachment (or use an electric hand mixer).
2. Mix until light and fluffy (5 minutes), scrape the bowl down as necessary so you don’t get chunks of cream cheese.
3. Reduce the speed to medium and add eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Reduce speed to low and add sour cream and vanilla. 5. Mix well and pour into crust.

Baking Instructions:
Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
Reduce oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes until the center is almost set.
Turn off the oven. Take cheesecake out and run a butter knife around the sides of the cheesecake. Leave the oven door open and put the cake back in the warm oven an extra 30 minutes. Cool cake to room temperature, then refrigerate.

When ready to serve the cheesecake, carefully run a butter knife around the sides of the cake. Unlatch and remove the springform pan. Serve the cake on the base of the pan.

Berry Sauce:
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cornstarch and lemon juice. As soon as it starts to thicken, add blueberries and cook until lightly bubbly. Don’t boil. Let cool to room temp and spread on top of the cheesecake when serving. You can make this sauce ahead of time and serve the next day as well.

This recipe is great for parties and is sure to please. Enjoy!

Notes: I got the idea to open the oven and let the cake sit in there from Barefoot Contessa. She also makes her cheesecake by adding 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest to the cream cheese filling; but I like the original flavor of cheesecake.

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