patagonian cheesecake.

Dear cheesecake, 

You will always be welcome in my home. You are the blue in my eye and the curl in my toes. My heart twinkles for you, like that lone bright Google satellite that's sat low on the clear-eveninged horizon for the past month.

This post has been a long time coming... ever since we bought blueberries and cream cheese in the big city a few weeks back. This time around I wrote down this recipe, so I can easily refer to it in the future. I usually end up going back and forth between a few recipes, tweaking them as I go. Changing ingredients to stuff we can find here, and according to the size of my pan. I even measured a bit more religiously, which I rarely do.

This recipe uses 2.5 8-ounce packages of cream cheese and makes a plain, low-dished cheesecake. 

A springform pan is great if you have it. But I've made cheesecakes in round Pyrex dishes and in bread pans. They still taste great, but your presentation score will go down, because you won't be able to remove the delicousness in one piece. This time, I used a low-rimmed pastry type pan with a removable bottom. These ingredients fit it perfectly! 

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen & Bakerella


 INGREDIENTS 
Crust:
  • 2 cups butter cookies*, crushed into submission crumbs
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 American-sized stick), melted
*You can also use Graham crackers, yum! Another thing we can't get here. But change up the cookie crust depending on the flavoring of your cheesecake (if you decide to make it espresso/chocolate/Irish cream--for instance--you probably want to use some sort of Oreo or chocolate or biscotti cookie)

Cream cheese filling:
  • 2.5 8-ounce packages of cream cheese.* I used Neufatchel (lower in fat and still delish!)
  • 3/4 cup pure sugar cane type sugar (or azucar rubia--blond sugar--as it's known here)
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tbsp orange zest
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs**
  • 1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt, if you cannot/do not have sour cream... as we don't)
*You can make this using only 2 packages of cream cheese, too. Just lessen the amount of yogurt you add at the end, so the mixture doesn't get too oozy. 
**I've made this with 2 or 3 eggs, but I was running out of room in our tiny cheesecake pan, so this time I just dialed it down to 2. Both ways are good! Cheesecake is so forgiving. :)

Blueberry topping:
  • 10 ounces blueberries (fresh is always ideal, of course, but I used frozen, 'cuz it's a Patagonian cheesecake and we have to make do with what we can find!)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch (use flour if you don't have cornstarch, I did)
  • 1/2 cup water*
*Try using only half the water at first, I always find I don't need as much water as the recipe calls for... Could be because I never use cornstarch though. 

Prepare the crust:
  • Preheat oven to 325 (if you have an oven with a temperature gauge... can you guess that we don't?)
  • If you don't have a food processor, be creative! There are tons of ways to crumb those cookies. Wine bottles + rolling pins are always helpful. 
  • Stir together the crust ingredients with a fork, until the mixture is moist. 
  • Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. 
  • Bake for about 10 minutes, remove and let cool. 
Prepare cream cheese heaven:
  • Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, zests and vanilla until smooth. 
  • Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
  • Mix in sour cream, adjusting the amount if necessary, to ensure the mixture doesn't get too runny. 
  • Pour mixture into cooled cookie crust.
  • Bake at 325 for an hour or so. Check your cake every so often, at least every 20 minutes, to make sure the top doesn't brown too quickly.
  • Take the cake out before the middle is completely cooked. It will finish cooking after you remove it from the heat. The middle should wobble a little when you shake it gently.
  • Let cool for at least six hours, or overnight in the fridge or at room temperature if room temp is already a bit crisp. Now you have to wait. Sigh. Slide a butter knife around the inner rim of the pan to loosen the cake from the sides. 
Prepare blueberry topping:
By now, you probably woke up kind of early as if it was Christmas or something. That is, if you're a midnight baker like me.
  • Throw all the blueberry topping ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil for two minutes. Remember to add the water little by little so the topping doesn't get too runny. 
  • Remove from heat (consistency should already be syrupy.) 
  • Let cool completely. I know, more waiting!  
  • Once cool, remove cheesecake from pan (if you can), and spread topping on the cheesecake. Brew some coffee, and dig in!  







36 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmm..its looks so tasty! yummi<3

Abby said...

Dear Blueberry Cheesecake,

I love you too.

OM NOM NOM NOM

Abby

Claire Kiefer said...

This looks a little too involved for my baking skills, but it also looks DELICIOUS. Would that I were sharing cheesecake with you right now! Video chatted with Micaela today and it made me wonder why you and I don't do that since we're currently so far away from each other??? Can't wait for you to be back here. :)

paislea said...

mmmmm! this looks soooo tasty!

allisterbee.blogspot.com

Sunshine Sarah said...

Ooooh, it looks so so gooooood!
I'm gonna dream cheesecake aaaall day and night! :))

Thanks for the recipe!

Sarah.

yourstrulydear said...

you know, even though i do not like cheesecake, somehow this one is calling out to me. maybe because it's so pretty. excellent job!

k said...

cheesecake is my favorite!

Gorgeous Glam said...

oh my goodness you are killing me right now with this!! I need a bite! Looks so wonderful!! xoxo

Nicki said...

YUM, YUM, YUM! This looks delicious!

OneCraftyFox said...

Oh. My. Goodness. Me.

lol!!

PS your comment regarding my new "About Me" pic made me chuckle. It was taken at a wedding that was held at a Museum of Art. There were all sorts of statues scattered about outside. I could not resist the great bull fight!! That's right baby, me and my 5" Betsey Johnson heels showed that bull who's boss ;)

my favourite colour said...

I feel that I am pretty much more fortunate than you guys out there. Coz not only that I am a follower of A measure of... but also a mate, husband to her.
So, I tell you, It is DELICIOUS!!!

Jenny said...

Beautiful! I'm glad someone else photographs their food. I seem to be obsessed with it. : ) Hope you enjoyed every last bite! xo

Poppies and Sunshine said...

This looks amazing! I am soo hungry now!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my stars, that looks amazing! Wow! When you talked about making cheesecake, I had no idea it would look SO GOOD! Well done, girl!

△▾christine▴▽ said...

OMG! your cheesecake came out BEAUTIFULLY! yumm! i wish you could mail me a slice :)

do you make a lot??

Cornflakes and Honey said...

Oh my goodness this is so mouth watering I have to stop myself trying to eat the screen!! Will have to give it a go!! x

Škorčica said...

I reconciled myself with being so far from this deliciousness, so I'm going to comment just a design and appearance of it: am... delicious! :)

and flowers pick themselves said...

wow. i'm definitely going to try this. thanks for the recipe! your instructions look very follow-able.

:)

xo Alison

Stacey said...

I'm drooling! Seriously, i just want to sink my teeth in that blueberry cheesecake. Yummy! xo

Cafe Fashionista said...

Is it bad that I believe I am capable of eating this entire cheesecake by myself? In one sitting? Ohmigosh yum!!! :)

paislea said...

i am not a huge fan of having big hunks of fruit in my pies...so i might squish the berries down a little bit.

allisterbee.blogspot.com

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Oh YUM that looks DELICIOUS!

Micaela said...

YUM! can you please cook for me? lol

kelli g. { bug miscellany } said...

oh, yum!

love your improvisation skills. you're one clever gal. :)

this free bird said...

omg heather will you be my neighbor??

for reals. this looks delish. i don't care if you make it in a shoe...so long as it's a new one. and a glass one.

xoxo,
carrie

this free bird said...

ps-i bet cuppie ate it all when you turned your back.

(i really need to quit)

Unknown said...

This cheesecake is seriously taunting me...looks and sounds amazing!!!

Ren- Lady Of The Arts said...

This looks good- My husband is a big fan of cheese cake so I would love to make something like this for him.

Joyti said...

YUm! It looks beautiful. And perfect for winter weather. And delicious.

Mariska Meijers said...

this is one of my favorite deserts, I am not joking. I just wish I had the time to make it myself in accordance with your recipe! I might go look for a good piece tomorrow here in Amsterdam..

BenchesnChandeliers said...

wow that looks AMAZING!

btw check out my giveaway ($100 worth of A'GACI clothes & accessories)!

http://www.benchesandchandeliers.com

Kelle Dame said...

OMG my mouth is watering!! This looks beyond delicious!!

Ashley said...

This looks absolutely divine! I am definitely trying it!

Heather Taylor said...

Your ode to cheesecake makes me smile :)

Marcie said...

Cheesecake is everywhere today! I had a huge slice last night.

xo M

Lulu and her whimsical ways! said...

oh my oh my oh my oh my, thank you for sharing dearest little miss! xx

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