Blueberry Cheesecake

I was looking for a way to add a little something extra to my cheesecake so I added more than a few butter Chessman cookies to the crust and this cake was gone by the end of our family's Thanksgiving feast.

Orangesicle cheesecake tart

I have no patience when it comes to tasting... my attempt at creating something of my own had me up at 4:30 this morning taking pictures ..."morning sunshine"! This thin slice of deliciousness was such a hit at my family recent get together I was requested to make another one the next day.

This cheesecake is fluffy, not too thick and sliced into 16 slices just enough to satisfy the craving for that orange vanilla popsicle of yesteryears. So, let's get started because I love cheesecake so much my patience is next to nothing during its chilling time. Today my oldest daughter Brandi and her son Xavier a.k.a 'Scrappy' stopped by try my latest dish, Scrappy said, "can I have another piece"? I said, "hun you just had two slices"... he said, "those were small I you shouldda just cut the whole thing into 4 pieces and save me the trouble of keep asking"... So you might wanna think about the size of the slices.

THE CRUST:

~ 7 honey graham crackers

~ 4 TBSP butter melted

~ 2 TBSP white sugar

~ 8 inch parchment lined spring form pan

THE FILLING:

~ 1 package of 8oz cream cheese softened

~ 1/4 cup powder sugar

~ 1/4 cup white s sugar

~ zest from 2 small orange

~ juice from 1 small orange

~ 1 large egg

~ 1 tsp. Vanilla extract.

Now...

Preheat oven to 350°

~ Using a food processor, pulse the cracker down them add sugar and continue into a fine grind then add melted butter scrapping down sides when needed

~ pour the crust into the prepared pan and level the crust out evenly plus up the sides of the pan about 1/2 - 1 inch

Now...

~ pour the batter on top of crust, try a tap out all to most air bubbles ( I wasn't that successful) put on middle rack and allow to cook for 15 minutes at 350° then lower heat to 300° and allow to cook for 45-50 minutes

....cake is done when it no longer jiggling in the middle, the cake will puff up during cooking but will level off or sink a bit in middle as it cools.

THEE SAUCE...

~ 1 TBSP Grand Martier (+ -) 

**I started off with 2 tsp then work my way up listed measurement

~ zest of small orange

~ juice of 1/2 small orange

~ 3 TBSP (+ -) orange marmalade

~ 2 TBSP Certo fruit pectin

~ approx 3 - 4 TBSP of hot water

~ in a mug using hand wand mixer or Emerson stick mixer, mix together marmalade and warm water until mix is loose

~ pour mixture into a medium sauce pan, add orange juices, zest, Certo and bring to a boil until a white foam forms now add Grand Martier allow to boil a minute more to allow alcohol to burn off

~ lower heat to allow cool and thicken up, now remove from heat, while sauce is still loose pour over top of cheesecake and chill completely overnight

~ decorate and serve in 16 slices

ENJOY...

Lemon blueberry cheesecake minis

The buttery crust on these little pretty minis was the talk at our family get together. Their size makes them the perfect grab n' go treat

.....WAIT FOR IT...waaait for it !!!

well I couldn't wait neither could my family. During the chilling time for these minis my phone rang off the hook..."ma, mom are they ready yet"? these lemon blueberry cheesecake treats will be amongst the top 10 requested desserts from your family.

I was asked to make a cheesecake but the bottom to my springform pan was missing so I figured I could still do a cheesecake just a different style and I found these little pretty treats, thanks to Chelseasmessyapron.com for sharing their recipe for miniature lemon blueberry cheesecakes.

Let's get started the faster we start the sooner you can enjoy a little bite of heaven. I made a few changes to fit my taste buds that will be noted with two asterisk (**)

Here's what I used...

THE BUTTERY CRUST...

~ 4 sheets of **honey graham crackers

~ 1 TBSP white sugar

~ 2 TBSP butter **pre-measured before melting

THE CREAMY CHEESECAKE FILLING...

~ 1 pk cream cheese softened

~ 1/2 cup white sugar

~ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ** alcohol free

~ 1 large egg **at room temperature

~ ** 1 1/2 - 2 TBSP lemon zest or the zest of two small lemons

**This recipe called for blueberry jam but I didn't have any but what I have was a fresh box of Certo fruit pectin and made a quick sweet tart blueberry sauce.

**HOMEMADE BLUEBERRY SAUCE...

~ 1 cup fresh blueberries 

~ 1 1/2 TBSP of Certo pectin to start + more needed to thicken sauce

~1 cup cold water

~ 1 TBSP white sugar + more needed to taste

~ 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

small to medium non stick sauce pan

- confection sugar for dusting

Now let's get'er done...

Pre-heat oven to 350° 

THE CRUST

Now...

- Line a regular muffin pan with muffin papers but only line the nine (9) wells, fill the other three (3)  halfway with water this process will help with weight distribution and even baking

- Using a food processor pulse the graham crackers into crumbs (not too fine), add in sugar and melted butter and pulse mixture a little more until combined.

-Evenly divide the crumbs into the muffin wells then press down on the crumb with a spoon or small top (I used my vitamin C bottle with cap on it) set aside

THE FILLING...

Now...

- place cream cheese in a medium size bowl, using a electric mixer combine sugar and cheese on medium speed until creamy (do not over mix), add in vanilla, egg, and lemon zest beat until just combined

- Evenly spoon mixture into muffin cups I started out using a 1 TBSP per then divided so forth, place filled pan on middle oven rack and bake for 20-22, the finished product should be a bit jiggly in the middle with brown to light brown edges

- Remove from oven, allow to cool 30-40 minutes on rack then put in refrigerator to cool at a minimum of 3 hours

-during the cooling down process the cheesecake will sink in the middle and that's quite ok that spot will hold the sauce and the berries. These were so much better and flavorful the next day at least the two that was left but....

THE SAUCE...

- in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat add water, sugar and cook until sugar dissolves

- add berries, lemon juice and pectin

-bring to a boil until white foam appears cook at this temperature about 3-5 minutes ad berries will break down

-lower heat to a simmer and adjust the sugar and lemon juice to your desired taste

-remove from heat allow to cool on rack ad the sauce cools it will thicken even better overnight.

Putting it all together...

- Spoon cooled sauce on top of cheesecake mini, add a few fresh berries and dust with powder sugar....and

ENJOY!!!!!