Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

Creamy, fluffy, tart and fresh, this baked Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake is the perfect spring recipe! Made like a traditional German baked cheesecake but using 5% fat greek yogurt instead of quark and with a browned butter whole wheat crust.

What does Lemon juice do to cheesecake?

Lemon juice adds delicious flavor to this baked cheesecake, it also creates and even creamier texture! Lemon juice won’t cause the filling to curdle due to the reaction it has with the full fat greek yogurt.

What can I use instead of Greek Yogurt?

Traditionally German cheesecake uses quark but as it can be difficult to find in the US, I have been testing alternatives! 5% fat Fage Greek Yogurt is a great alternative, or Norr full fat skyr will work as well. If you want to go more traditional, here is a recipe to make quark at home.

What does blueberry cheesecake taste like?

Blueberries can be quite sweet and subtle but the addition of lemon juice and lemon zest really brightens them and gives them a fresh, tarter flavor. The blueberries add sweetness and a berry flavor while the lemon balances out the rich cheesecake filling.

Can you freeze cheesecake?

Yes! I love to freeze this cheesecake by cutting any extra into individual slices, wrapping them in plastic wrap and then storing in a freezer ziploc bag. To defrost cheesecake, take out as many slices as you want and defrost, still wrapped, in the fridge overnight.

What if I don’t have a 7″ springform pan?

If you don’t have a 7″ pan, I recommend sizing up to an 8″ pan and checking the cheesecake 10 minutes early for doneness. If you scale down to a 6″ pan, you will have too much filling.

Additional Recipes to try:

• Käsekuchen – German Baked Cheesecake
• Baked Lemon Cheesecake
• Aprikosenkuchen – Apricot Cake

Tips for making Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

• The crust has browned butter in it which gives it an extra nutty savory flavor which pairs so well with the filling. If you’ve never browned butter, my top two tips are to stir it constantly while browning and watch it carefully. Browned butter can quickly go from browned to burnt so once you see the brown bits, turn off the heat and keep stirring until it has cooled down slightly.
• When cooking the lemon blueberry compote for the filling, you want to cook it until it is thick and syrup like. Stir it regularly to keep and bits from burning.
• Don’t over bake it this cheesecake, it should still have a wobble kind of like jello but not slosh. It’s ok if your cheesecake isn’t as golden as this, it can depend on your oven.
• Allow the cheesecake to come to room temperature before putting it in the fridge to set fully. Ideally bake it the day before you need it to let it set up all the way.

Ingredients

Crust

• Butter: browned butter is used in the crust, it’s important to use unsalted butter to make the browned butter but it can be either cold or room temperature.
• Sea Salt: A hefty pinch of salt goes a long way in this crust and balances out the sweetness of the filling.
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is used to sweeten the crust.
• All Purpose Flour & Whole Wheat Flour: A combo of whole wheat and all purpose flour is used in this crust to give it a bit more flavor and depth but you can use only all purpose flour if needed.

Lemon Blueberry Compote

• Frozen Blueberries: I like to use frozen blueberries for this recipe because it is more cost effective and guarantees that they are ripe meaning this cheesecake can be made at any time of the year.
• Granulated Sugar: Again, sugar is used to thicken and sweeten this lemon blueberry compote.
• Lemon Juice & Zest: Both lemon juice and zest are used here for the ultimate lemon flavor; always zest the lemons before juicing them.

Cheesecake Filling

• Corn Starch: corn starch is very common in cheesecakes because it thickens them and gives it that creamy and thick texture. Arrow root starch can be used in place of the corn starch if you prefer.
• Granulated Sugar: The sugar in this cheesecake not only adds sweetness but also helps give it the creamy texture.
• 5% Greek Yogurt: While it may be tempting, don’t swap this full fat greek yogurt with a fat free greek yogurt – you will be left with a grainy and watery cheesecake.
• Sour Cream: Sour Cream adds a little extra creaminess to the cheesecake filling.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the sweetness of the filling.
• Eggs: This recipe uses two standard large eggs from the grocery store in the filling.

How to make Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

Make the crust

• Preheat the oven to 350º F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Brown the butter by adding the butter into a medium sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir with a rubber spatula or whisk. Continue cooking until brown bits start to appear. We want all of those brown bits but we don’t want it to burn so turn down the heat if necessary.
• Once browned, remove from the heat and stir a few more times to help it cool down.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, and salt.
• Pour in the browned butter and use a rubber spatula to combine. Place in the fridge to cool it down, stirring occasionally while preparing the rest of the cheesecake.

Lemon Blueberry Compote

• In a large sauce pan, add in the frozen blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
• Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stir frequently while it reduces. Continue to reduce the compote until the bubbles become thicker and the liquid looks more thick and syrup like. When stirred, a line should stay visible on the pan for at least 1 second.
• Once reduced, take the pan off the heat and pour the compote into a large shallow bowl to let it cool down.

Make the filling & bake

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine and then pour in the yogurt, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture together.
• Add the eggs and stir again until smooth.
• Pour in 125 grams of the cooled lemon blueberry compote and stir again.
• Press a large square of parchment paper into a 7″ springform pan and crease the excess along the edges so that it lays flat.
• Pour the cooled, mixed crust into the lined springform pan. Press the crust into the the base of the pan.
• Carefully pour the filling into the pressed crust.
• Bake the cheesecake for 40 minutes, then rotate the pan 180º and bake for another 30-40 minutes until just slightly wobbly.
• Once baked, remove the cheesecake from the oven and leave to cool on a rack until it is room temperature. Then, move it to the fridge and allow it to set fully before removing the springform pan.
• Leave to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Top with the remaining compote before slicing and serving.

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