When I was a teenager, my most amazing Mom became ill. Tragically ill. From the time of her diagnosis, she had a private nurse for part of the day. A strong and spectacular character in a 90-pound body, “Gerri” taught us so much, about life, about love, about how to deal with all we had before us. She became part of our family. She became our Mom’s best friend, and was one of the dearest people we ever knew. From these difficult years came many sorrows but also many blessings, including Gerri.
Having been married to a recently-deceased Army man, Gerri brought with her an inner strength coupled with a zest for life that one rarely encounters, but from which always learns. Originally from the East Coast and having traveled much of the world in her lifetime, Gerri also brought with her an array of foods and recipes our beef-and-potatoes Midwestern palates had not yet encountered.
One day, she used a strange word in a sentence….”Cheesecake”. What? Say that again? Cheese and Cake? How could that be? We didn’t know cream cheese from Kraft Singles in our house, so cheese and cake? Um, … no, … thank you? It seems Gerri had hosted a dinner party and brought her leftover cheesey cake to our house for us. She swore up and down to our disbelieving faces that it was fabulous, and ultimately, maybe 2 of the 6 of us agreed to try it. We were the lucky ones, weren’t we?
At that point in my life, cheesecake totally became my favorite food EVER! Where had this been all my life? And how did cheese become a dessert? And where could I get some more? I had to try and make it. Gerri brought me her recipe and an appropriate pan to use. I spent an entire morning putting it together and baking it. Maybe it spent a bit too long in the oven. It was a bit, shall we say, firm. But at the same time, utterly delicious. (That should let you know how difficult it is to ruin this.)
I no longer have Gerri's Cheesecake Recipe, but this Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, a remarkably similar recipe if my memory serves me, brings back memories of that discovery and, indeed, all of the joy she brought to us and to our beloved Mom, during the days she spent with us. It is perfect - a bit lemony, super creamy, richly-flavored on a crisp graham cracker crust, topped with sweet berries. Still one of my all-time favorites!
Also, it is so easy to make you won't believe it - it really does just take a few minutes to put together. Some time to bake and cool, but so worth it! And added thanks to our friend Gerri - for all that you were to us and all that you taught us - from friendship to cheesecake! Enjoy!
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Recipe
You will be crazy for this rich yet light and creamy Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake. The cake has a hint of lemon and the lemony-blueberry topping provides a beautiful topping. Use fresh or frozen berries. The recipe for the crust and the cheesecake filling was adapted from the beautiful cake found at Buttercream Blondie. The key to...
- Prep Time: 20m
- Cook Time: 1h 10m
- Total Time: 1h 30m
- Serves: 14
- Yield: 1-9" Cheesecake
- Category: Cakes and Frostings, Desserts and Sweets, Make ahead, Recipe
Ingredients
Crust ingredients:
- 2 c Graham Cracker crumbs (about 27 squares, or 13-14 sheets)
- 1 tbsp. Granulated sugar
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
Filling ingredients:
- 24 oz Or 3-8oz. Blocks cream cheese, at ROOM TEMP!
- 1 c Granulated sugar
- 1 c Sour Cream, ROOM TEMP!
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 2 tsp. Natural Vanilla Extract
- 3 Large eggs, at ROOM TEMP!
- 1 Large egg yolk
Blueberry topping ingredients:
- 4 tbsp. Sugar (more to taste, if desired)
- 4 tsp. Cornstarch
- Juice of 1 lemon (zest it first!)
- 1/2 c Water
- 3 c Fresh or Frozen Blueberries (I used frozen)
- Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
Prepare the Pan:
- Wrap the bottom edge (where the sides meet the bottom of the pan) with a layer of plastic wrap. Fully cover the plastic wrap with a layer of aluminum foil. Generously butter bottom and sides of pan. Place the pan on a large, low-sided baking sheet - you will use this sheet for the water bath (if you choose to do the water bath).
Prepare the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter until it is like wet sand. Press in bottom and 1-2" up sides of springform pan. Bake 8-10 minutes until set. Lower oven temperature to 325F. Set crust aside to cool.
Prepare the Filling:
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer (it's ok to use a hand mixer or even a good strong bicep), at medium to medium-high speed, cream together the cream cheese and the sugar, until mixture is smooth. Add the sour cream, salt, lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, until nicely incorporated. To ensure filling is completely smooth, continue mixing an additional 15-30 seconds.
- Pour filling into crust. Place in oven. Into the baking sheet, pour 1 1/2 - 2 cups boiling or near-boiling water. Bake (at 325F) for 60-70 minutes, or until sides of cake are set and the middle 2-3" are still wobbly. Turn off oven, and leave cake in an additional 30-60 minutes. At this point cake should be fully set. You may want to run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake at this point to ensure it doesn't stick to the sides of the pan once fully cool.
Prepare the Topping:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water. Over medium heat, continue to stir occasionally until mixture boils. Add in half of the blueberries and simmer 2-3 minutes, while smashing most of the berries with the bottom of a metal spoon or a potato masher.
- Stir in remaining berries and lemon zest. Pour into pint-sized jar or bowl and set aside to cool. Refrigerate. Use to top entire cheesecake or individual pieces.
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Wow. That sounds like such a difficult time; I’m glad you had someone like Gerri to help you through. And this cheesecake! OH MY! It looks wonderful!
Thanks so much, Kelsie!
Having a critically sick parent is such a huge load for a teenager to bare. Gerri sounds like an incredible person though 🙂 I don’t eat a lot of cheesecake but feel like I have to try this one with all those gorgeous big blueberries. Thanks for sharing Laura x
Thanks, Ruby! Something about this time of year makes me want lemons and blueberries together. And official blueberry season isn’t until June! So we have many berry recipes to anticipate. I appreciate your comments so much!
that sounds like a tough time, but i’m glad it let you to meeting gerri! she sounds like such a wonderful person (: and all that blueberry topping on this cheesecake looks delicious ?
Thanks, Heather! I always tell people that I feel like whatever each of our lives is, becomes our “normal”. You often don’t know until you look back what you’ve been through, learned and even benefitted from. And – It is some yummy blueberry sauce. ?