Mom’s Blueberry Cheesecake
This is the cheesecake of my childhood. It is the first cheesecake I ever remember tasting – I cannot remember a year that mom did not make this particular cheesecake. As introductions to cheesecake go, you can’t go wrong with this one. It is essentially a New York style cheesecake in a 9″x13″ format, perfect for any large gathering or party. From what I can find, similar recipes started circulating as far back as the early 1970’s under names like “Easy Party Cheesecake” or “Crowd-sized Cheesecake”, but for our family this has always been, and will always be, “Mom’s Cheesecake” or “Mom’s Blueberry Cheesecake” (the only fruit she ever topped it with was blueberries).
It starts with a classic crunchy, buttery graham cracker crust that covers not only the bottom, but also the sides of the pan. In general, I’m not an edge piece kind of girl, I prefer the filling over the crust any day. But not with this cheesecake – my favorite piece of this cheesecake was always the corner piece. To this day, this is the only dessert that I will fight to claim the corner piece.
The filling is ultra creamy – there is no flour or cornstarch for additional binding, just the cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla – a perfect, silky, tangy custard. I know many recipes call for lemon juice in the filling, but mom was never a fan – it is possible that the original recipe she started with had lemon juice in the ingredients, but she never would have included it. The second filling layer of sour cream, sugar and vanilla is a key element in making this a New York style cheesecake. When the cheesecake is eaten as a single perfect bite, this layer simply adds a subtle additional tang (which, as far as I am concerned, more than makes up for leaving out the lemon juice).
And finally, a generous layer of blueberry topping covering the entire cake – you can use whatever fruit topping you like here, but mom always used blueberry. While the blueberry topping I got this time was composed of small, probably wild, blueberries, mom’s was usually big, plump, juicy blueberries. If I’m being honest, as a kid I liked the blueberry syrup part of the topping better than the actual blueberries, sometimes nudging the blueberries themselves off my piece and back onto the rest of the cake, but I think that the key here was to make sure you got that bright, tart, sweet blueberry flavor to complement the rich, luscious creaminess of the cheesecake.
I love my own version of New York Cheesecake, but this one will forever be my first cheesecake love. In fact, I have always loved this cheesecake so much, that when I was a teenager going through my light, reduced calorie, low fat everything phase, I didn’t want to give up this cheesecake at the holidays. One year, I convinced my mom to make her recipe with reduced fat graham crackers, fat free cream cheese, and fat free sour cream. I have to tell you guys – it was an unmitigated disaster! The filling quite literally boiled in the crust and never, ever set. I appreciate so much that my mom was willing to try that experiment for me, but honestly, I’m not too sad it didn’t work out – you really should just not mess with perfection.
Over the years, this has continued to be a family favorite and became the special favorite of one of my great nephews, ensuring that this would never be left off of the holiday menu (specifically, New Year’s Eve). While my kids never had the opportunity to try it straight from grandma’s kitchen, I have also been making this recipe every year for New Year’s Eve – only we do stripes of cherry, blueberry (there is no compromise on this, it must be there) and apple topping on ours!
Equipment
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a medium mixing bowl.2 cups (220 g) graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, 1/2 cup (112 g) melted butter
- Mix well then press into the bottom and up the sides of a 13"x9" glass or ceramic baking pan.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth.32 oz (907 g) cream cheese
- Blend in the eggs, sugar and vanilla, just until combined – avoid over mixing.4 eggs, 1 1/3 cup (267 g) sugar, 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla
- Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes while making the second filling layer
- Raise the oven temperature to 425°F.
- Combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.1 pt (473 ml) sour cream, 4 tbsp (50 g) sugar, 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla
- Carefully spread the sour cream mixture over the first layer of filling, ensuring it is all the way to the edges.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack
- Spread the blueberry pie filling evenly over the entire surface of the cooled cake.2 cans blueberry pie filling
- Chill the cake in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Notes
- Add 1/4 tsp salt to the crust
- This crust has a high ratio of sugar which is great for creating a little extra caramelization and crunch in the crust, but can come across as extra sweet – the touch of salt helps to balance that.
- Pre bake the crust for ~10-12 minutes
- If you like a little extra crunch and contrast between the filling and the crust, I recommend pre-baking the crust before adding the filling.
- Brush baked crust with very well beaten egg white about 2 minutes before it is done baking.
- This creates an extra barrier between the crust and the filling helping to protect the texture of the crust.
- Add 1/4 tsp salt to the filling-layer 1
- This is for the same reason as you would add it to the crust, it helps to balance the sweetness of the dish over all.
- Use a different fruit topping or even multiple fruit toppings on the same cake
- This is simply a matter of preference, our family loves the blueberries and wouldn’t dream of not using them, but we also enjoy cherry or apple topping so go with what you love!
Private Notes
Nutrition
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