Blueberry cheesecake

Serves: 8

To say this blueberry cheesecake is bursting with blueberries is an understatement! Whip up this delicious dessert for your friends and family.

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Ingredients

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

• 6 tbsp (3 oz./90 g) butter, diced
• 3½ tbsp (1½ oz./45 g) brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (1 oz./30 g) lightly beaten egg (about 1 medium egg)
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (5¼ oz./150 g) all-purpose flour
• Scant ¼ cup (20 g) almond flour
• Scant ½ tsp (1 g) ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch fleur de sel salt
• 3 tbsp (1¾ oz./50 g) clarified butter, melted

For the cream cheese filling

• Scant 3 cups (1½ lb./665 g) cream cheese
• ¼ cup plus 1 tsp (2¼ oz./65 g) lightly beaten egg (about 1½ medium eggs)
• ¾ cup (4¾ oz./135 g) superfine sugar
• 3 tbsp (45 ml) heavy cream, min. 35% fat

For the blueberry puree

• 3 tbsp (1¼ oz./35 g) superfine sugar
• ½ tsp (2 g) pectin
• 5¾ oz. (165 g) blueberry puree

For the decoration

• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
• Blueberries
• Small pieces of edible gold leaf

Directions

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

1Beat the butter, brown sugar, and egg in the stand mixer until smooth. Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, cinnamon, and fleur de sel and beat until just combined.

2Bring the dough together with your hands, shape it into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.

3Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/Gas Mark 4). Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about ¼ in. (5 mm).

4Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

5Break the pastry into pieces and grind to a powder in the food processor. Add the clarified butter and pulse to combine.

6Line the baking sheet with fresh parchment and place the baking ring on it. Press the pastry over the base and up the sides of the ring in an even layer, about ¼ in. (5 mm) thick.

For the cream cheese filling

1Place one rack in the lower third of the oven and another rack in the center. Preheat the oven to 330°F (170°C/Gas Mark 3).

2Process all the filling ingredients together in the food processor for 1 minute until smooth.

3Pour the mixture over the crust in the ring. Place a bowl of water on the lower oven rack to create humidity and help prevent the cheesecake from cracking while it bakes.

4Place the cheesecake on the center rack. Bake for 40 minutes, then turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake inside.

5Leave for 1 hour without opening the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then chill.

For the blueberry puree

1Combine the sugar and pectin in a bowl. Heat the blueberry puree in a saucepan until the temperature reaches 104°F (40°C), then stir in the pectin and sugar until dissolved.

2Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and pour directly over the top of the chilled cheesecake.

For the decoration

1Transfer the cheesecake to a serving plate and lift off the ring.

2Dust the top edge of the crust with confectioners’ sugar and arrange blueberries and small pieces of edible gold leaf over the blueberry puree.

Extracted from Fruits and Nuts: Recipes and Techniques from The Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts by FERRANDI Paris (Flammarion, 2021).

Photography © Rina Nurra