How to Make the Perfect Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake: A Step-by-Step Recipe Guide

This seriously might be one of the best cheesecakes I have ever had, between the tangy lemon, sweet blueberry, and mix of cream cheese, it ends up being the best combination. It is sweet, but just sweet enough. Tangy, but not too tangy. And creamy, but not too creamy. All the flavors and textures complement each other in this cheesecake recipe!

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I have been making cheesecakes for about 4 years now. One day I woke up and just felt like making one (even though I had no experience hardly baking at all). Well since that day, I have tried many different cheesecake recipes, perfected some, and worked on a few others to find the perfect mix of ingredients. Making cheesecakes became a hobby of mine because I enjoy trying new ingredients, but also, making cheesecakes is lowkey HARD y'all. And you all know... I love a good challenge:) Some different cheesecakes I have made are coconut cream, lemon curd, caramel, New York style, apple butter, red velvet, this lemon blueberry swirl, and my family's favorite, espresso chocolate cheesecake (which is pictured below with Oreo crust and peanut butter drizzle).

I may not be an expert but I have made quite a few cheesecakes and wanted to share this one because it was MY first recipe that I created! I had looked into a few recipes, but couldn't find one I liked. Since I have made so many cheesecakes, I know the base of what I want in all my cheesecakes, so I simply added everything I wanted. Thankfully, it came out beautiful and now I can share it with you all, so buckle up as we walk through making this perfect cheesecake! You can also go on Instagram or TikTok (both are @christaevansss) to find a video of me walking through making the cheesecake!

Ingredients

Crust

1. About 2 cups (or 12 sheets) of crushed graham crackers (I used the one with honey,)

2. 1/4 cup of sugar

3. 8 tbsp of butter (or until you reach the perfect crust consistency)

4. Spray olive oil

Main Mix

1. 3 blocks (24 oz) of softened cream cheese *see note

2. 1 1/4 cup of sugar

3. 2/4 cup of sour cream (I use the lite one)

4. 1 tsp of vanilla extract

5. one fresh lemon

6. 3 room temperature eggs *folded in

Blueberry compote

1. 1 cup of halved blueberries

2. 1 tbsp of flour

3. 2 tbsp of water

4. 1/4 cup of sugar

Lemon zest glaze *see note

1. Lemon zest

2. 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

3. 5 tbsp of milk

Equipment

1. 9-inch springform pan (https://amzn.to/3Q1GYJt)

2. Tin foil

3. Disposable aluminum tray (link for sizing reference. https://amzn.to/4aQlSFU)

4. hand mixer (https://amzn.to/3vGP2sl)

5. blender or food processor ( my blender- https://amzn.to/3vFv80Q. Food processor- https://amzn.to/3PZN4tT)

6. Large bowl for mixing (I adore these bowls- https://amzn.to/3PXPcSQ)

7. Medium saucepan (My pot and pan set that I highly suggest- https://amzn.to/4cNUdXU)

8. Measuring cups (I'm not a math girly so these are great for me- https://amzn.to/4aSLthv)

9. A zester (long one- https://amzn.to/3VYo8ql. Short one- https://amzn.to/3UfyrFb)

*Note: 1. Make sure your cream cheese is fully softened! This can change the outcome of your cheesecake dramatically. Either let the cream cheese stay out of the fridge all day until you make it that evening or leave it overnight to make in the morning. 2. You can easily look up the concept of folding eggs in but you can also go watch my video of it to see how I fold my eggs in! 3. The lemon zest glaze was very last minute and the ingredients are not exact because I just added the powdered sugar, milk, and lemon zest until I liked the flavor of it. Just know, the measurements are super flexible!

Instructions

Crust

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Wrap your springform pan in tin foil so the bottom is covered

3. Spray the pan (bottom and up the sides) with olive oil

4. In two increments put the graham crackers in a blender or food processor until all the graham crackers are crushed

5. Put the graham crackers in a bowl and add the sugar and melted butter

6. Stir until mixed (if the crust is still pretty dry add more butter. You want the graham crackers to be completely wet)

7. Pour the crust into the springform pan, pat it down with a large spoon, and mush the crust up the sides of the pan (about 1 inch above the bottom)

8. Put the springform pan in preheated oven for 12 minutes (this is how long I did but I would suggest doing more like 15 minutes)

Main Mix

1. Get your large mixing bowl out and add the cream cheese and sugar

2. Use the hand mixer to mix the two ingredients until smooth

3. Add the sour cream, vanilla, a whole lemon squeezed in, and lemon zest

4. Mix the contents until smooth

5. Fold in the eggs one at a time, and don't add the next egg until the one before is folded in completely

6. Once you have taken out the crust, allow it to cool. Then pour in HALF the lemon cheesecake mix
   

Blueberry Compote

1. Put the springform pan to the side, and begin the blueberry compote by halving a little over a cup of blueberries

2. Put the blueberries in a medium saucepan over medium heat

3. Add in the flour, sugar, and water

4. Mix/squish the blueberries in the pan and let simmer for about 5 minutes

5. Once the sauce becomes thicker, turn off the heat

6. OPTIONAL* Put the blueberry sauce in a bowl and mash the blueberries more (I personally do not like a lot of chunks of fruit in my cheesecake)

7. Allow the blueberry sauce to then cool some and turn the oven down to 325 degrees
   

Putting it all together

1. Once the compote has cooled some, pour it on top of the lemon cheesecake base and swirl/spread it around

2. Pour the rest of the lemon base in the springform pan and the blueberry compote on top

3. Make sure to swirl it around with a toothpick all around
   

Water Bath

1. Put the springform pan in the disposable tin tray, and put the pan in the oven

2. Make sure the rack is pulled out, and then add in water to the disposable tray to the LOWEST point of the tin foil *THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

3. Carefully push the cheesecake in and close the oven. Allow it to bake (do not open the oven) for 1 hour

4. After the hour, turn off the oven and crack the oven door and let it sit in there for another hour (make sure to not move to this step until the middle of the cheesecake is slightly jiggly before shutting the oven off)

5. After that hour is up, take the cheesecake out of the water bath, place it on a towel, and allow it to sit outside of the oven for a good hour until you move it to the fridge (This ensures your cheesecake will slowly cool and guarantee it not to crack!)

6. Place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight
   

Lemon Glaze

1. The next day make your lemon zest glaze by simply mixing together all the ingredients in a small bowl until you get a medium consistency. If you think it looks thick, add another tablespoon of milk. If it looks super milky, add in some pour powdered sugar.

2. Pour the glaze on top and serve! You can also add some more lemon zest shavings on top for decoration or put some blueberries on the plate for decor!

This recipe is so fun with all the moving parts, so I hope you enjoy making it! If you do make it or a version of it, definitely let me know how it turned out for you. And don't forget to follow me @christaevansss on Insta and Tiktok for a tutorial video of this cheesecake and lots of other dinner recipes and snacks! Please feel free to reach out to me on social media for any questions or comments:) Now, go get your bake on!