Blueberry Cheesecake with Basil Infused Crust

Back to my (cooking) roots

(This is a creamy, rich and dense blueberry cheesecake recipe that you will have in repeat! It’s a New York style cheesecake with a buttery graham cracker crust and a tangy blueberry compote. As you see while drooling over the pictures, with this recipe you’ll get a smooth top cheesecake, without any cracks, burnt spots or a deflated center. Still, it’s thick, dense and super creamy! This one is my little baby! That’s why I’m giving it the update treatment with new glossy pics. Hope you love the backstory of my first official cheesecake as well as this beloved recipe!)

A call came the day before Easter lunch. A dessert was needed but I was in my chilling mode, chilling clothes and chilling attitude that weekend, which meant that I didn’t make a proper trip to the markets because I was taking it easy after Mariana’s birthday celebration and making her favorite Carrot Cake.

So, I checked my fridge and was about 3 cream cheeses, a lemon and graham crackers short. I always have frozen blueberries so a blueberry cheesecake will be. After collecting cream cheeses and lemons around the neighborhood (no, I didn’t go door to door like a crazy person! My mom is my neighbor so usually her fridge is my convenience market) and a quick trip to the supermarket and I was ready to go.

But when starting to make the whole thing it suddenly hit me that this will have nothing special. Seriously, the girl with the blog would bring a simple, not extraordinary or crazy flavored cheesecake? It was then when I started to scavenge around my pantry and fridge like mad, hoping for a bit of creativity to find that perfect twist, but nothing. I gave it up, mainly because it was like 9:00pm and I was tired, and just kept going on with the steps. It was when I reached to pick the lemon that I saw the basil and suddenly thought about these strawberry basil mojitos. And I love basil very much, so it hit me! Almost brown butter infused with basil to make the crust. I can’t even tell you what a mellow and beautiful hint this imparts to the whole cheesecake. As simple as this!

Now everyone around is loving this recipe, but for me it's truly especial. It reminded me of my real and original style of cooking. This is what my cooking style is all about. To use everyday ingredients in a new light. To get something extraordinary out of ordinary ingredients. Even ordinary techniques. And we have the power to do that every time we turn that stove on. And (well, almost!) with our current fridge.

Based on your fridge, with what flavor you think you might end? I’m all ears!

3 keys to prevent a cheesecake from getting cracked, deflated or with burnt spots

1. You need to have your ingredients at room temperature.

2. Try to incorporate the less possible amount of air to the cheesecake batter.

3. Bake your cheesecake in a “bain-Marie”.

How to make this New York style blueberry cheesecake

1. Prep all the ingredients, because once you start, everything runs pretty fast. If you are in a hurry, heat the cream cheese in the microwave in 12-second intervals until soft. Don't let it get too warm! Fats will start to break down compromising the flavor and texture of the cheesecake.

2. I like to line with parchment paper the bottom of the pan and spray with baking spray. You also need to wrap it half way up with aluminum foil pressing all the gaps. This is how you prevent water from getting inside your springform pan when baking a cheesecake.

3. Make the graham cracker crust. You can omit the basil in here, just follow the recipe exactly without them.

4. When making the filling, remember to not over mix! This is a mixture that doesn’t like air at all. Starting with very softened cream cheese is key in achieving a super smooth filling without incorporating too much air to the cheesecake batter, preventing it from getting cracked and deflated after baked.

5. Remember to keep scraping down the walls and bottom of your mixing bowl to make sure all the ingredients, especially the cream cheese, are well incorporated. You are looking for a homogeneous batter. A few tiny lumps of cream cheese is ok.

6. I strongly recommend using a 18” x 13” baking tray or a roasting pan to make the bain-marie. You need to have water throughout all the baking time and a shallow pan will not hold that many and it will evaporate pretty quickly.

I tell you my friends, this one is a gem! If you love making cheesecakes as much as I do, you should check my workshop, The Best Ever Cheesecake Workshop! It’s a pre-recorded live session workshop I made. We had a blast, the results from the participants were simply outstanding and after it happened so many of you guys kept asking me about it that I decided to make the session available to everyone! Read the details here and trust me when I tell you that you’ll have a blast and learn all the cheesecake tricks I have to offer. There are two sessions, English and Spanish!

Until the next one!

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Basil Infused Crust Blueberry Cheesecake

Ingredients

Basil Infused Crust

◯ Unsalted butter – 10 TBSP (1 stick + 2 TBSP)
◯ Basil sprigs – 2 o 3 with about 3 to 4 leaves each
◯ Traditional graham crackers – 8 oz (15 whole rectangular cookies), broken in small pieces
◯ Raw or granulated sugar - 1 TBSP

Cream Cheese Filling

◯ Cream cheese, at room temperature – 5 (8 oz) packages
◯ Raw sugar – 1¾ cup
◯ Unbleached all purpose flour – 3 TBSP
◯ Lemon juice – 2 TBSP, about the juice of 1 medium lemon
◯ Lemon zest – 2 Tsp (the zest of 2 medium lemons)
◯ Vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract – ½ Tsp
◯ Pure coconut milk - ¼ cup
◯ Eggs – 5, large
◯ Egg yolks – 2, from large eggs

Blueberry Lemon Topping

◯ Cold water – ½ cup
◯ Cornstarch – 1 TBSP
◯ Blueberries – 2 cups
◯ Raw sugar – ¼ cup
◯ Freshly squeezed lemon juice – 2 TBSP

Details

Total time:
1.5 hours plus chilling overnight

Prep time:
30 minutes 

Cooking time:
1 hour and 15 minutes

Equipment:
pie dish or springform pan, stand up or electric hand mixer

Steps

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 350°.

If using a springform pan, spray the bottom with cooking or baking spray.

In a small saucepan place the butter with the basil and heat in medium to low level. Melt the butter and let it start sizzling a bit. Shake frequently the basil to release its fragrance. Retire from heat after the butter has sizzled for a minute or two and you can smell the fragrance of the basil.

Place the cookie pieces with the sugar in the bowl of a food processor already attached to the base. Pulse 2 times to integrate everything and make the crumbs smaller. Start running the food processor again and pour in the melted butter, just until the crumbs are very fine and compact, about 10 to 15 seconds. If there are still big crumbs of crackers, integrate the crumbs stuck to the wall of the bowl and pulse a couple of seconds more. The crumbs will appear dry but they are ok. Transfer the content to the pie dish or the baking pan you will be using. Press onto the bottom and up to the sides, until the crumbs are evenly distributed and you have reached the edges of the pan with them. You may use a bottom flat small measuring cup or utensil to help yourself press down and distribute the crumbs. Bake for 5 minutes, then place it in the fridge to cool down.

To make the filling: 

Increase oven temperature to 425° and preheat.

Either in the bowl of a stand up mixer or in a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat in medium speed the cream cheese until light, about two minutes. Decrease to low speed and add the sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix in the vanilla and the coconut milk. Start adding the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Scrap the wall of the bowl between additions, if needed. Stop beating as soon as the last yolk is incorporated.

Place baking pan in a baking sheet. Pour filling into it. Place the baking sheet with the pan on the middle rack of the oven. Fill the baking sheet with water almost to the top. Close oven door and bake for 7 minutes. After that, turn down the oven to 275° and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the cheesecake is firm but the center is slightly wobbly if pan is shaken a bit.

Turn oven off and let the cheesecake there with the door halfway open for a couple of minutes, then take it out and let it cool down completely. Loosely cover the cheesecake with plastic paper and place it in the fridge. Chill for at least 8 hours or ideally overnight. Remove from pan, if using a springform and prepare for serving.

To make the topping:

In a small saucepan combine the water with the cornstarch and dissolve. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat on in medium heat. Let it boil, then cook for 3 to 4 extra minutes, until you see the liquid is thickening. Retire from heat and let it cool.

Putting everything together:

Take out the cheesecake from the fridge about 10 minutes before serving. Very carefully remove from pan and transfer to a serving plate (if in doubt, don’t try to separate it from the bottom of the pan, just place it like that on the serving plate, see my notes about that!) Pour over the blueberries and serve!