Blueberry Cheesecake with Herbed Almond Crust
A luscious dessert perfect for anytime of the year - a great recap to a cold winter night or a nice compliment to a summer picnic. The Herbed Almonds give the cheesecake an amazing herbal note to compliment the blueberry main notes.
Directions
Make the crust:
Stir the crust ingredients together. Pour into a shallow 9-inch pie pan and pack very tightly using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup. The tighter it’s packed, the less likely it will fall apart when cutting the cheesecake. Place in the freezer for 10 – 20 minutes while preparing the filling.
Make the filling:
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 4–5 minutes. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together on medium speed until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides and paddle as needed.
Fold in the blueberry jam until incorporated.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined.
Remove the crust from the freezer and spread the filling into the crust. Use a spatula to smooth the top of the filling.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 6–8 hours or up to 2 days. Chilling overnight is often the easiest.
Using a sharp knife, cut into slices for serving. Wiping the knife clean between each cut will make for neater slices. If using a springform pan, remove the rim of the pan before slicing.
Serve cheesecake dotted with blueberry jam.
Suggest Wine Pairing: This is a decadent dessert offering a wide selection of wine pairing options. Because it isn’t over sweet, we’ve been pairing it with our biggest, boldest red wines - the fat perfectly compliments the full tannins. Ignis, Astéries, Barranca are all great options. Look at Cabernet, Malbec and Tempranillo for a more general varietal option. For whites, go with a bright, acidic wine such as our Estate White and Calcaria blends. Sauvignon Blanc and unoaked Viognier are good general optoins.
Ingredients
For the crust:
5 oz. or 1 cup cinnamon cookie crumbs (we use Biscoff)
1/2 cup crushed Herbed Almonds
1/4 cup sugar
8 TBSP butter, melted
For the filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½ cup blueberry jam – we use St. Dalfour
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. Mexican vanilla
¼ cup powdered sugar
