It’s time for another cheesecake recipe. The last time I made cheesecake, it was as classic as cheesecake gets, and it was amazing. But I recently decided that I was ready to branch out in my cheesecake baking skills and try some new flavors. Starting with lemon and blueberry.
This cheesecake was everything I could have hoped it would be. It was fluffy, smooth, creamy, and decadent, with a really pronounced lemon flavor. The ricotta added a sort of mellow richness that balanced perfectly with the tart tanginess of the lemon, and the fresh, bright, super sweet blueberry sauce elevated everything to a whole new level of fruity deliciousness. I especially loved how the sauce was made up of both cooked and raw blueberries – the cooked blueberries got soft and chewy as they released their yummy juices, and the raw ones added pops of texture and fresh-picked flavor throughout. It was really delicious, and even though the classic cheesecake is probably still my favorite ever, this one is now a close second.
Ingredients
for the graham cracker crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 crackers)
- ⅓ cup of sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
for the lemon ricotta cheesecake
- 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- juice and zest of 3 lemons
for the blueberry sauce
- 2 pints fresh blueberries, divided
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup of water
Instructions
first, make the graham cracker crust
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Set aside.
then, make the cheesecake filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and ricotta cheese on medium speed until well-combined. Add the sugar and vanilla, followed by the eggs and yolks, and beat until smooth. Add the flour and mix to incorporate. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix to combine.
- Pour the filling into the spring-form pan on top of the prepared crust. Smooth it on the top with a spatula.
- Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil, then place the pan into a large roasting pan. Pour very hot water into the roasting pan so that it comes about halfway up the spring-form.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake it for an hour and 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit in the closed oven, untouched, for 45 minutes.
- Take the cheesecake out of the oven and out of the water and let it sit on a wire rack until it has cooled completely. Put it in the fridge and let it chill for at least 6 hours.
then, add the blueberry sauce
- Put 1½ pints of the blueberries into a small saucepan with the sugar. Cook over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until the berries have softened, burst, and released a lot of juice, 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch, lemon juice, and water in a small bowl. Add this mixture to the blueberries and continue cooking until the mixture has thickened (this should happen pretty quickly).
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the rest of the blueberries.
- Let the blueberry sauce cool for at least 10 minutes before pouring it over the cheesecake.
