Lemon Berry Cheesecake

The warmth and crunch of a graham cracker-pistachio crust is perfectly contrasted with the creamy cloud of light lemon cake dotted with pops of roasted blueberry, and topped with the crisp sweetness of fresh strawberries. Are you listening? 

There's only one possible color scheme for Fourth of July dessert. This year, I created a cheesecake that ranks among the best desserts I've ever made - and I can't wait to share it with you! My audience was rather skeptical about the lack of cream cheese ("How can it be cheesecake...?") but everyone was very impressed with the light, creamy texture of the finished product. I believe it's marginally healthier than the traditional recipe, but you should choose this cheesecake simply because it is FANTASTIC.

If you're not experienced with baking cheesecakes, all you need are the right tools and a few guiding principles. You definitely need a springform pan, with a detachable ring around the sides to allow full release of the cheesecake when it's cooled. Also make sure you have some heavy duty aluminum foil and a roasting pan for the water bath when you're baking it. The rest is... cake.

Lemon Berry Cheesecake

Makes one 8" cheesecake

Recipe adapted from A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis

Graham Cracker-Pistachio Crust

9 graham crackers

3/8 C dry roasted unsalted pistachios

6 Tbsp melted butter (3/4 stick)

1/8 C + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse graham crackers and pistachios in a food processor until finely and evenly ground. Add sugar and pulse to combine. Add melted butter in small increments until mixture is moist and sticks together but doesn't ooze butter (you may not use all of the butter). Press crust into bottom of springform pan with your fingers to form an even layer. Bake for 7 minutes, remove and let cool completely.

Lemon Cheesecake

1 C fresh blueberries (or frozen fresh)

12 oz ricotta cheese

12 oz mascarpone cheese

6 oz greek yogurt

3/4 C granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

~10 fresh strawberries for decoration

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread blueberries onto baking sheet lined with foil, and roast for about 8-10 minutes until berries start to pop and release their juices. Remove from oven and set aside.

With an electric mixer, blend together ricotta, mascarpone, greek yogurt until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, blending between. Add sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt and combine completely. 

Wrap the cooled springform pan with heavy duty foil and place in roasting pan. Add water until the line reaches ~1/3 the height of the springform. Pour cheesecake mixture on top of cooled crust. Add roasted blueberries by small amounts on top, and swirl once or twice with a spoon to distribute them (they will sink to the bottom but leave some flavor throughout). 

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the cake is set in the center (not liquid, but still jiggly). It will brown lightly on top, so cover the cake with foil after 30 minutes if you want to keep it light. When it's done, turn oven off and let the cake sit in the oven for 1 hour to set completely. Remove and let cool completely. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before decorating and serving.

To decorate, wash and hull strawberries and slice them lengthwise. Arrange along the circumference of the cake, starting with the outside edge and moving inwards. If you have extra strawberries, puree them in a food processor and serve the fresh sauce with the cheesecake!