Naked Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote Topping and Gold Glittery Sprinkles

Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote

This lemon cheesecake with blueberry compote is ridiculously creamy & bursting with fresh spring flavors. The cheesecake has a delicious lemon flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet berry topping.

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Chilling 6 hrs

Total Time 7 hrs 20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake

Servings: 12 pieces (…welllllll….yeah, more like 10, or 4 haha!)

Calories: 420kcal per 12th of whole pie

Author: Fiona Dowling

Equipment

9-inch springform pan
large metal bowl and small metal bowl
hand-held blender
measuring spoons and cups
large roasting pan (big enough to fit the springform pan, but you can just put this on bottom rack instead of putting spring form in it)
Aluminum Foil (not needed if you’re not putting the springform in the water bath pan)

Ingredients

For the Crust

6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 tablespoon sugar (or less if you’re using Honey Maid grahams with sugar)
1 and ½ cups graham crumbs*

For the Cheesecake

22 oz cream cheese* full-fat, brick style
1 cup granulated sugar (also, I used less to reduce my sugar intake, and the recipe works fine)
2 tablespoons lemon zest* about 2 lemons
4-6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1-2 lemons)
Lemon Extract (optional, but nice touch)
¾ cup sour cream*
3 large eggs*
boiling water for the water bath

For the Blueberry Compote

2 cups blueberries*
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Less than a cap-full of Lemon Extract
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F degrees. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil so that the bottom and sides are covered. Wrap at least 3 times so that all the seems are covered.
If you don’t have a pan large enough to fit the springform inside of, then put a 9x12 pyrex pan filled with water on the bottom rack, and the cheesecake on the top rack above it. The water serves to humidify the oven and prevent the cake from cracking.

Crust

In a medium bowl, stir together the graham crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until combined.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan, creating a slight lip around the edges (the sides of the pan will not be covered). Fun trick! Use the bottom of a measuring cup to make the crust flat. Pat gently.
Bake crusted pan in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove crust from the oven keeping the oven turned on.
Oops, I forgot this step above. I just put the crust in the pan, poured in the cheesecake filling, and it sat on the counter for a while as I worked. Instead of a crispy crust, it actually made the crust softer like a sugary bottom, and I actually prefer that better than a crispy crust, so:
Pre-Bake Crust first = crispy/more firm. Or…..
Don’t pre-bake = really yummy crust, just softer

Cheesecake Filling

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until smooth. Continuously turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the sour cream, followed by the lemon juice.
With the mixer on low speed, mix in the eggs 1 at a time until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Baking and Cooling

Place the springform pan (still wrapped in aluminum foil) into the center of the roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan so that there's about ½ to 1 inch of water.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan (on top of the crust) and smooth the top.
Place the roasting pan with the cheesecake inside in the preheated oven. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until the top looks set except for in the very middle and if you give the pan a gentle nudge, the cheesecake has a slight wobble in the middle.
Remove the roasting pan (with the cheesecake inside) from the oven. Cool the cheesecake in the roasting pan until it's room temperature. Remove the springform pan from the roasting pan, cover the top of the springform with aluminum foil and place the cheesecake in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Blueberry Topping

Place the berries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Stir the mixture so that the berries are coated. Gently stir the mixture for about 5-10 minutes as the blueberries begin to soften and the juices come out.
In a small cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Add the mixture to the blueberries, gently stirring as the mixture starts to thicken. Boil for about 5-10 additional minutes, or more as needed. (The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools).

Serving

Once ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the fridge. Trace around the edges of the cheesecake again using a very thin knife (not a table knife). Then undo the clamp of the springform pan and remove the sides of the springform.
Top the entire cheesecake with blueberry topping, or slice into pieces and add a scoop of blueberry topping on each piece.

Notes

Graham crumbs can be replaced with 1 ⅔ cups crushed digestive biscuits.
Cream cheese, sour cream and eggs should be room temperature before getting started. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to making the cheesecake filling.
You'll need about 1-3 lemons total for the cheesecake and blueberry topping. This cheesecake has quite a pronounced lemon flavor. For a less strong lemon flavor, use 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 3 tablespoons lemon juice in the cheesecake filling. Do not use lemon juice from the bottle. It is too sour for baking with.
Blueberries can be fresh or frozen. I typically use frozen because the flavor of the sauce is the same and it's a more affordable choice.
Cheesecake can be made the day before you plan to serve it. Blueberry topping can be made the day before, cooled fully, and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Or it can be made right before you plan to serve the cheesecake. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition information is based on 1 piece with blueberry sauce, assuming the cheesecake is sliced into 12 equal pieces. Nutrition information is meant as an estimate only.

Nutrition

RESPECT! Thank you to Fiona from JustSoTasty who is the baker and originator of the recipe and the blog where I found this masterpiece.

This recipe is so professional! I made it for my boyfriend (he helped a little :) and he couldn't stop raving. Gave away a few slices and they thought it came from a restaurant. Granted, it was very time consuming, but totally worth it to impress friends and family.

So glad I found this recipe to try for my first cheesecake!! Perfect!

MODS:

I used slightly less sugar than called for because I'm trying to limit sugar intake and it still came out just fine.

Also, we didn't have a pan big enough to fit my spring form, so we put the cheesecake on the top rack and a pyrex 9x13 of water underneath it so there was moisture in the oven and that seemed to be a great trick.

The cake made kind of a bowl at the top naturally which incredibly held in all the topping perfectly!

Extra fun mod: for decoration, I found some gold glitter sprinkles and made an ombre effect and it really make the whole cake even more beautiful!