Category: Blueberries

No-Bake Cheesecake with Freeze-Dried Blueberries

5/30/2018

So, the last few weeks have been challenging. Found out that pain from my neck, down my shoulder, radiating down to my fingers was the result of pinched-nerve and mild-bone-spur issues. Not fun.

So grateful for the BF, who has been heroically helping me with everything, including the many things you can't do with one hand, such as opening jars, schlepping 50-pound food-filled bins in heavy glassware, fastening a bra hook. Good times.

It was a week where a cheesecake must be made. [Ed. note: Or a day ending in "y."]

The original recipe comes from Stella Parks of Serious Eats, and to be clear, this is not your traditional New York dense cheesecake. This particular cheesecake is creamy, fluffy and has an acutely concentrated blueberry flavor. Bodes well considering the hot summer months that will be here soon. This will be a go-to dessert for my clients.

I realize it's often said, "Hey folks this dish is really easy to make," but consider I made this for Memorial Day with one hand. It was also a hot day and I didn't have to even bake the crust. Can't wait to try the freeze-dried strawberry and mango versions.

As Stella Parks says in her blog, "Unlike fresh fruit purée or jam, freeze-dried fruit has no water or added sugar, so it packs a concentrated flavor that won't throw off the consistency or sweetness of the no-bake cheesecake filling. And thanks to the low-temperature processing method, freeze-dried fruit has the same bright flavor as fresh, not the semi-caramelized profile of a stovetop reduction."

Adapted from: Stella Parks, Serious Eats
Number of servings: 8-12

Ingredients
Crust

8 ¾ ounces graham cracker or Biscoff crumbs, for this recipe chocolate graham crackers were used (about 2 cups; 250g)
2 ½ ounces unsalted butter, melted but cool (about 5 tablespoons; 70g)
Kosher salt, to taste

Filling

5 ¼ ounces sugar (about ¾ cup; 150g)
2 ½ ounces freeze-dried blueberries, see picture after recipe (about 3 cups; 70g)
16 ounces plain, full-fat cream cheese, such as Philadelphia (two 8-ounce packages; 455g)
1 ½ ounces fresh juice from 1 lemon (3 tablespoons; 45g)
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume
14 ounces heavy cream (about 1 ¾ cups; 395g)

To Serve

12 ounces fresh fruit (about 2 cups; 340g), washed and dried

Directions
Crust

Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl, then stir in a pinch of salt to taste.
Sprinkle into a 9-inch tart pan or pie plate, spread into an even layer, then compress firmly with a flat-bottomed drinking glass or measuring cup; this will naturally push the crumbs up the sides of the pan. Keep pressing until the crumbs are in a compact, even layer across the bottom and sides of the pan.
Refrigerate until needed (wrapped in plastic, this can be done a day or two in advance).

Filling

In the bowl of a food processor, grind sugar and freeze-dried fruit until powdery and fine, about 1 minute.
Combine cream cheese, blueberry-sugar, lemon juice, coriander powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Mix at low speed to form a thick paste, then increase to medium speed and beat until soft and smooth. Scrape the bowl and beater with a flexible spatula, then switch to the whisk attachment.
Add the cream, mix on low speed to combine, then increase to high and whip until the mixture can hold stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes depending on the horsepower of the mixer.
Scrape into the prepared crust and spread into an even layer, using the back of a spoon to sculpt the filling into swoops and swirls. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until filling is firm and cold, about 6 hours, or to an internal temperature of 40 °F.

To Serve

Top with fresh fruit and cut into wedges with a hot chef’s knife (rinse it under hot running water between each slice). Carefully slide a pie server under the crust, making sure it reaches all the way to the tip of the wedge (the first slice will the most difficult and messy to remove). Wrapped in plastic, leftovers can be refrigerated keep up to one week.

NOTES:

Chocolate graham crackers were used here, but what I really wanted was dark chocolate wafers (my store was out).
This recipe is for a 9-inch tart or pie pan. I cut the recipe in half and used a 7-inch pie pan.
This recipe works well with an equal weight of any freeze-dried fruit, but their volume will vary by type, and some fruits (such as raspberry) will benefit from sifting before use.
For strawberry cheesecake, replace the coriander with an equal amount of five-spice powder.
For cherry cheesecake, replace the coriander with almond extract.
For mango cheesecake, replace the coriander with ⅛ teaspoon cardamom.
For banana cheesecake, replace the coriander with ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves.
For cranberry cheesecake, replace the coriander with ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves and ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and use an equal amount of orange juice in place of lemon.
With any version, an equal weight of Oreo wafers, gingersnaps, or other cookies can be used in place of the grahams.

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Pickled Balsamic Blueberry Sauce

9/6/2017

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My BFF (since 4th grade) lives in a charmingly small Washington-state town in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. Her circa-1920s farm house is populated with every imaginable nut and fruit tree – chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, apples, cherry plums, pears, and bay. Wild blackberries, raspberries, huckleberries, a summer garden, as well as a menagerie of animals (rabbits, chickens, birds, goats, cats) complete the picture.

The pièce de résistance is the blueberry orchard (see last photo below), with blueberries as large as grapes that, dare I say, truly taste “blue.” We recently reconnected, and I of course took the opportunity to bring home a good supply of the prize blueberries and put them to good use.

This sauce is the perfect compliment to pork chops, wild salmon, chicken and steak. Personally, I don’t like cloyingly sweet fruit combined with meat, but this is different as the balsamic and red wine vinegar give it just the right amount of acid to counter the richness of the protein.

By the way, this is peak salmon season in Washington and the recipe is as Pacific Northwest as they come.

Number of servings: 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups blueberries
1 teaspoon mustard seeds or juniper berries (not both, just pick one or none, this ingredient is purely optional)
½ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup (good) balsamic vinegar
1 stem thyme
1 large shallot, finely minced
Salt

Directions

Place blueberries in a shallow bowl.
Heat the mustard seeds or juniper berries (if using), ½ cup sugar, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and 1 stem thyme in small saucepan for 3 minutes and stir until sugar dissolves. NOTE: turn your stove fan on and do not stick your face over the pan to take a whiff…the vinegar will knock you over.
Add minced shallots and a sprinkle of salt (to taste) and simmer 2 minutes.
Strain the sauce directly over the blueberries and let sit for 15 minutes.

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No-Bake Cheesecake with Freeze-Dried Blueberries

Pickled Balsamic Blueberry Sauce

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