Berry Blue Blueberry Cheesecake

Crappy photo of a delicious blueberry cheesecake

I love blueberries, but Stuart LOVES blueberries... and cheesecake.  So for his birthday (I may just be a tad late on this post), we decided to try our hand at a Blueberry Cheesecake!  I had made a Toffee cheesecake once before, and didn't like how it turned out, so I was apprehensive about our mission.  But MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 

Isn't graham cracker crust THE BEST?

We didn't stray much from the recipe.  Instead of measuring out 3 cups total blueberries, we used 2 packages of frozen blueberries and a handful of fresh blueberries in the sauce.  One interesting thing about this recipe is the use of sour cream for the topping, but honestly, I couldn't really notice it.  I think next time I would like to incorporate blueberries within the cheesecake.  I prefer whole blueberries as opposed to a sauce layer (that was baked).  But I guess that's just my preference. 

Anyway, adapted recipe from myrecipes.com, originally a Cooking Light recipe.

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 2/3  cup  graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
• 2/3  cup  reduced-fat vanilla wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies)
• 3  tablespoons  sugar
• 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
• Filling:
• 1 package of frozen blueberries minus roughly a cup of blueberries
• 1  tablespoon  cornstarch
• 2 1/2  (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup  sugar
• 2  tablespoons  cornstarch
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 5  large eggs
• Topping:
• 1 1/2  cups  fat-free sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• Sauce:
• 1/4  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  water
• Roughly 1 cup of frozen blueberries + some fresh blueberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter; toss with a fork until moist. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. To prepare filling, combine 2 1/2 cups blueberries and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a food processor, and process until smooth. Place puree in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup blueberry puree for sauce; set remaining 1 cup blueberry puree aside.
4. Place cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed for 3 minutes or until smooth. Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and salt. Add sugar mixture to cheese mixture; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour batter over prepared crust. Pour 1 cup blueberry puree over batter; gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven (do not turn oven off); place cheesecake on a wire rack.
5. To prepare topping, combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring well. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over cheesecake. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove sides of springform pan.
6. To prepare sauce, combine reserved 1/2 cup blueberry puree, 1/4 cup sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring constantly. Gently fold in 1 cup blueberries. Remove from heat, and cool. Serve sauce with cheesecake.