To say this Blueberry Cheesecake is bursting with blueberries is an understatement! Baked to achieve that elusive light-yet-rich creamy cheesecake filling, studded with blueberries inside and smothered in an incredible glossy blueberry sauce topping. It’s magnificent!
Blueberry Cheesecake
I know sometimes the thought of a quick ‘n easy no-bake cheesecake recipe is enticing.
But if you want to make cheesecake the way it’s intended to be, with a filling that’s somehow fluffy but creamy at the same time, rich but not so dense that it sticks to the roof of your mouth, then a baked cheesecake is the way to go.
Add pops of blueberry littered throughout that lemony cheesecake filling, then OMG that insane glistening blueberry topping ….
It’s a sight to make a grown man weep. (Well, girl. 😂)
Cheesecake made easy
Don’t let the number of steps you see visualised below daunt you. While cheesecakes aren’t usually pitched as a recipe for beginners, you don’t need to be an experienced cook to make mine. I’ll walk you through it so you can have confidence that you’ve got this, even if you’re a first timer.
I’ve written the instructions out carefully, you’ve got step photos AND an instructional recipe video.
And unlike cakes, you don’t need to worry about sinking and collapsing. So even a cheesecake that doesn’t go quite to plan is still going to be very, very good!
Blueberry Cheesecake Components
Here are the 3 parts to this Blueberry Cheesecake (which, by the way, is a rendition of this Strawberry Cheesecake, in case you’d like to browse reader feedback!):
The biscuit crust – I’m a cheesecake crust tragic. I just love the texture contrast of the sweet crunchy crust with that insanely creamy filling. So my cheesecake crusts go up the sides, rather than just being on the base. But you can skip the sides if you prefer;
The creamy rich-yet-light filling – a juxtaposition you can only achieve with baked cheesecakes, the consequence of which is that it’s not sickeningly rich (ie we can eat more! 🙌🏻);
Blueberry sauce topping – with a syrup that drips slowly down the side of the cheesecake as you plough your way through it….
1. Cheesecake biscuit crust
Here’s what you need for the cheesecake crust – just plain sweet crackers (any type will do – loads of options listed in the recipe) and butter (the glue).
How to make the cheesecake crust
Blitz to make crumbs (or bash a ziplock bag with a rolling pin – very therapeutic), mix with butter then press into the cake pan.
TOP TIP: Make quick work of the crust by using something round with a flat base and straight walls to press the crumbs into the pan.
Everybody thinks cheesecake biscuit walls are really fragile – but they are actually rather sturdy once the cake is cooled. I don’t have fairy fingers – and I’ve never destroyed one!
2. Blueberry cheesecake filling
Here’s what goes in the cheesecake filling. Standard baked cheesecake ingredients, with the addition of blueberries.
Cream cheese – must use block, not the spreadable cream cheese in tubs (too soft). If you can only get spreadable, just skip the sour cream;
Blueberries – fresh or frozen is fine here. If using frozen, do not thaw it (otherwise it bleeds when you stir it in and you’ll end up with a purple cheesecake!);
Sour cream – lightens up the mixture a touch so it’s not ridiculously rich. Just 1/2 cup makes such a difference!
Flour – just a tiny bit really helps stabilise the filling to keep it slightly aerated (rather than dense so it sticks to the roof of your mouth) and so it doesn’t collapse in the middle;
Eggs – the key ingredient that gives this cheesecake aeration. You don’t need to whip it – eggs just naturally rise when baked (you can see in these Egg Frittata Muffins how much egg rises);
Vanilla – for flavour;
Lemon zest – because the flavour of lemon is terrific to bring a touch of freshness to cheesecakes, and is a natural pairing with blueberries; and
Sugar – white, to keep the colour of the filling white.
How to make the cheesecake filling
Here’s how the filling is made and baked:
The cheesecake filling is very straightforward to make – everything just gets mixed in a bowl, poured into the crust then baked.
TIP: Only mix until each ingredient is incorporated and the batter is smooth. No need to beat to aerate the batter. If the filling is beaten too much and becomes very aerated, then the cheesecake might rise a lot in the oven which will cause cracks. Not a big deal though because flaws get hidden under the Blueberry Sauce!
You don’t need to fuss with a water bath to prevent surface cracks. That’s only required to rectify recipes that don’t make the filling correctly, bake at the wrong temperature, or for too long.
Why cool cheesecake in the oven?
The cake is cooled in the oven for two reasons:
If you cook the cake all the way through in the oven, it puffs up too much which causes surface cracks; and
To keep the cheesecake creamy inside. The oven is turned off before the cake is fully cooked, then it finishes cooking in the turned off oven. The gradual drop in temperature creates an environment such that the cheesecake finishes cooking but cannot overcook.
3. Blueberry sauce for the cheesecake
Here’s what you need for the blueberry topping:
Blueberries – frozen or fresh is fine here;
Sugar – to create the syrupy consistency;
Vanilla – for flavour;
Lemon – to cut through the sweetness and because it goes so well with blueberries; and
Cornflour/cornstarch – to thicken the syrup so it drips slowly down the cake when you cut it, rather than running everywhere.
How to make blueberry sauce for cheesecake
We cook some of the blueberries with the sugar, lemon and vanilla so they break down to create the vibrant purple sauce.
Then stir in cornflour/cornstarch to thicken, and lastly stir in whole blueberries.
Word of warning: this blueberry sauce stains! The pictured wooden spoon is now permanently purple!
Blueberry Cheesecake FAQ
Cracks occur because the cheesecake rises too much. This can happen because filling that was beaten for too long so it aerated too much, or overcooking.
Excess beating = aerated batter = cheesecake rises too much = cracks in surface
Overcooking = cheesecake rises too much = cracks in surface
But don’t forget, it doesn’t matter if your cheesecake cracks because you’re smothering it with sauce!
3 key tips:
Make sure you don’t over beat the batter by using room temperature ingredients so they incorporate faster, and follow my recipe beating time directions;
Cook in a moderate oven, not hot – if the oven is too hot, the cheesecake will rise too fast, causing the surface to crack;
Turn the oven off while the cake is still jiggly (partially undercooked) then leave it in the turned off oven to cool – it will finish cooking during this time.
Play the clip below to see how jiggly the cheesecake should be when you turn the oven off – more jiggly than you’d expect!
NO. Though you’ll see many recipes swearing by the water bath method to ensure the surface of your cheesecake doesn’t crack, it’s not necessary if you make the filling properly, don’t over beat, cook in a moderate oven and don’t overcook.
In fact, when I published the Strawberry Cake recipe, I did a side by side comparison of water bath vs no water bath cheesecakes. As you can see in the photo below, there is no difference in the surface of the two cheesecakes – except the water bath one was a LOT more of a hassle to get into the oven!
I feel your pain – that was the disaster that occurred to me with my very first cheesecake!
Here’s how to make it easy (and safe) to remove your cheesecake: flip the base UPSIDE DOWN, line it with baking/parchment paper and secure the sides so the excess paper is sticking out.
If you do this, you don’t need to lift the cheesecake over the ridge of the base, it just slides right off. Similarly with the paper, grab the overhang then push the cheesecake off the paper. Voila! Cheesecake in tact!
This is how jiggly the cheesecake should be when you turn the oven off:
Also note how it’s quite puffy and even a big sunken in the middle. That doesn’t matter because it sinks back down to a level surface once it cools in the oven.
Blueberry sauce optional!
I know I’ve been going on and on about how great the blueberry sauce is. And it certainly adds an extra special touch here, but I only do it when blueberries are in season – and cheap! Because this cheesecake calls for 250g/8oz blueberries IN the cake (2 Australian punnets) and 375ml / 13oz ON the cake (3 punnets)
For the rest of the year, I only use blueberries inside the cake and a serve it with cream.
Nobody has ever complained.😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Blueberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cheesecake Biscuit Base:
- 200g/7 oz Arnott's Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , well softened (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp flour , plain/ all purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat, sub yogurt)
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon (can skip)
- 3 eggs , at room temperature
- 250g / 8oz blueberries (Note 3)
Blueberry Topping for Cheesecake:
- 375g / 13 oz blueberries (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (or water)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan). Place shelf in middle of oven.
- Line inverted base: Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly then press on a square piece of parchment/baking paper. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
- Line sides: Butter and line the side of the pan.
Cheesecake Biscuit Base:
- Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
- Blitz until fine crumbs. Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.(Note 5)
- Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
- Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I use a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
Filling:
- Cream cheese: Use a stand mixer (with paddle) or handheld beater to beat the cream cheese until just smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You do not want to aerate cheesecake filling too much as it causes cracks when it bakes)
- Add flour, beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just incorporated.
- Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 sec max, speed 4).
- Eggs: Add eggs one at a time – beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 in between each. After the last egg, beat as needed until batter is smooth – but stop beating immediately once smooth.
- Blueberries: Stir in blueberries with a rubber spatula. Pour into prepared crust.
- Bake: Bake for 70 minutes. The top should be a bit puffed, very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan, see video at 1 min 23 sec (sets in next step).
- Cool: Cool the cake in the oven with the door open approx 20 cm / 8" for about 2 hours (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan or overnight. Cake will sink and surface should be flat.
- Release: Remove sides of springform pan. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan base. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
Blueberry Sauce for Cheesecake:
- Place 1 cup of blueberries (125g/4oz), vanilla, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 7 minutes until blueberries breakdown.
- Mix cornflour and water, then stir in – it wil thicken quickly.
- Stir in remainig blueberries. Sauce should be syrupy – remove from stove and cool. Will thicken as it cools.
- Once cool, stir. Adjust thickness 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time to make it the perfect "oozing" consistency (see video, Note 7) – be careful, don't make it runny!
- Spoon onto cheesecake so it's completely covered – you'll have maybe 1/2 cup sauce left, good for touch ups. Refrigerate 2 hours+.
- Slice and serve!
Recipe Notes:
- Australia: Arnott’s Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I’ve made it with all these.
- US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
- UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives!
- Cracks occur due to oven temp too high or overcooking
- In this recipe, you stop cooking when it’s still quite jiggly (see video at 1 min 23 sec) which means it’s actually still a bit undercooked in the middle
- By leaving it in the oven, it finishes cooking but the declining temp stops it from overcooking
- If you don’t do this step, you have to cook for longer in the oven to cook middle through which makes it rise too much = cracked surface and not as creamy inside
Nutrition Information:
More cheesecake recipes
And for blueberry monsters
Life of Dozer
Click! Snap photo of cheesecake.
Shift camera slightly to the left. Click!
Is it disturbing to know Dozer’s furry head is just out of frame of every single food shot on this website?? 😂
Hi Nagi,
Can’t wait to comment and Im still cooling it down. I’m using a turbo broiler to bake since I still don’t have the oven. I think I overbaked it. Top is brown and sides are cracked. You have idea what will happen if the sides are cracked? TIA!
Hi Nagi,
I would like to try this for a tree-trimming party I have coming up. I was thinking that instead of one big cake I might use my set of smaller cheesecake moulds. Do you have any advice for dividing it into minis?
You will need to bake it a much shorter time, Jess. I can’t tell you exactly as it will depend on the size and your oven. Just keep an eye on the jiggle level! N x
Hello! Excited to try this for my mom’s birthday. Do you know what the bake time would be if I made this on a 9 inch springform pan?
Thank you!
I don’t but look at the video and you can see the level of jiggle you are looking for – take it out once it’s at that level. Also for a 9 inch pan I would up the crumb base recipe by 25 percent to cover the larger area. N x
Ahhh good call on the base! I’ll be trying this with ginger snaps on Friday. Super excited!
Made this for a birthday and gosh, it’s so yummy and tasty!!! Looked amazing and tasted even better! Not too sweet on the inside which was perfect with the sauce. 11/10 recommend!
An excellent recipe, very delicious. I have made it several times already, and never have once failed.
Well done Nagi for the creation.
My only comment is that the cake is a little bit too sweet for my liking, so after I baked it for the first time, I reduced the sugar content to about 70% of what is recommended.
It tastes superb to me now.
Omg! It’s my first time making it and it’s perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe I made it for my partner’s birthday and wow! Everyone loved it. Just a question, can I do the same recipe if I want to make an Oreo cheesecake? Thank you.
I just made this yesterday for my daughter’s 23 birthday! She said it was the best cheesecake she’d ever had!! 🙂
Thank you! and thanks for all the notes, descriptions and explanations! Very helpful!!!
Hi Nagi,
Hopefully this question hasn’t been asked. But can you use frozen blueberries in the cake and for the sauce? Or is fresh better for the sauce? Thanks
Hi Jenny..there’s a note in the post…fresh or frozen are fine but do not thaw first or they will bleed into the cake..enjoy!
This is my second time cooking your blueberry cheesecake. The first one turn out really good and can’t wait to taste the second one. Thank you for sharing your recipe with very clear instructions.
My pleasure! Blueberries are soooo good right now!😊
Oh my goodness! My first every baked cheesecake and this turned out exactly like the picture and tasted even better! Everyone loved it! Instructions were perfect. Next time (and there will be a next time) I might reduce the sugar to 1 cup just to try and I was a bit uncoordinated with the base so would use the whole pack of Marie biscuits with proportionate butter just to give myself some wiggle room. Definitely give it a go! Insanely good
If you haven’t tried this Blueberry cheesecake you’re missing an absolute delight. Thank you it was Devine.
Thanks so much for the great feedback Sue!!! N x
I’ve made this 3 times now (as per recipe with Nagi’s awesome instructions) and it has turned out perfectly and absolutely DELICIOUS every time.
I use frozen berries in the batter and fresh berries for the topping.
My labradors also stare at it longingly, very similar to Dozer 😀
Made this today and it’s SO delicious. I checked it after 60 minutes in the oven and it was already sliiightly overcooked (just a bit more brown and less jiggly than suggested) so I would definitely keep a close eye on it whilst baking. Otherwise, super delicious and the lemon really takes it to another level. Thanks Nagi, incredible recipe as always!!!
I made this a couple of days ago and was my first ever shot at making a cheesecake. Turned out amazing! It was so pretty and delicious too (the only thing I changed is I didn’t put blueberrys in the batter). I thought it would be much harder to make a cheesecake than it was but the instructions were so clear. I sent half of the cake to work with my partner and I heavily regret that now because I want more of it for myself lol just gonna have to make it again soon.
I’m so glad you loved it Taysia!!!! N x
I bake so i had a lot of cake carvings. Can I crumble it and use as base instead of buiscuits?
I haven’t tried sorry Chie, I feel it may be too soft in this recipe sorry! N x
When I’m looking for a recipe online and your website shows up, I get excited and very happy as I know it will turn out beautifully! It’s Father’s Day here this week so I’m going to make this yummy treat for my family. Thank you for all the wonderful food you share Nagi, you are always a hit at my table 🙂
I made this on the weekend for Father’s Day!
It was loved by everyone, thank you Nagi 🙂
Hi Nagi
Can I blend all the cheesecake base together on low speed in my food processor? One ingredient at a time ?
Can the cake part be frozen for future use and topping added when thawed and ready to serve?
Hi Nagi! I hope you can help. I have always wanted to know this. If I want to make just half the recipe, how do I find out what size pan to use? Thanks!
I know this is late, but hopefully it can help somebody:
The area of a circle is pi times the radius squared. This 20cm pan’s radius is 10cm, so the area is 3.14*10*10=314cm^2
If you want to use half the ingredients, you want to cover half the area -> 157cm^2.
So you need to figure out which circle will have an area of 157cm^2:
3.14*x*x=157
x*x=157/3.14
x*x=50
Square root of 50 is approximatelly 7 -> you need a pan with radius 7cm, so a 14cm pan.
Loved making my first cheesecake with cream cheese! Also with fresh wild blueberries. Sooooo good. The only thing that didn’t work properly was the topping didn’t thicken. It slid into the cut where I cut 2 pieces out but after another day in the fridge that didn’t happen anymore! I’ll make that recipe again for sure!