Thank You, Rain

Thanks to some very torrential rain here last night, a full third of my living room carpet flooded. Wish me luck trying to get it all cleaned up, but seeing as I've already got 7 gallons of water sopped up, and the floor is still soaked, I'll be working on that for a while yet.

Anyone have a Wet-Vac?

Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

Considering that my previous blog had gone a long time without updates, I decided that it was time to let that one die and create a new one. So, yay, new blog!

As anyone who read my old blog, I'm a graphic designer by trade, but I LOVE desserts. It was inherited from my grandmother, I think. She was well-known for all her baked goodies, and it's hard to think of her without remembering the time spent in the kitchen with her and my mom.

In that vein, I'll write my first new post about the cheesecake I made for Mother's Day. Yeah, I know it's a couple of months late, but better late than never? (The truth is, I've been an extremely busy woman, and usually never believe in belated anything.)

It's obvious that I need a new camera. Or more photography lessons. Or better knife-skills. Or something....

That cheesecake staring you in the face is a Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake. Looks delicious, doesn't it? (See caption.) It's based off a certain famous Chicago-style cheesecake* that I saw and thought, "Hey! I can do that, but I won't be paying out over $50!"

I started by reverse-engineering the recipe, and breaking it down into each part: crust, cheesecake, curd, mousse, and gelée. It took me a long time, but I was able to cobble a working recipe together. But, instead of using blackberries (although Mom loves those, too), I used her favorite: blueberries.

The recipe takes a while to prepare, but the results are well worth it. Besides, how are you going to show someone you love them if you don't take the time to do it?

* Yeah. I'm talking about Eli's. This one, in particular.

Start with making the crème fraîche. If you're like me, and can't find or don't want to pay for the expensive store-bought kind, just follow the extra-simple recipe below.

Crème Fraîche

* 1 cup whipping cream (not ultra-pasteurized, if you can find it)

* 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1. Combine 1 cup whipping cream and 2 tablespoons buttermilk in a glass container. Cover and let stand at room temperature (about 70°F) from 8 to 24 hours, or until very thick. Stir well before covering and refrigerate up to 10 days.

Easy, isn't it? Also, do NOT worry about leaving it at room temperature. The healthy bacteria in the buttermilk will protect your cream. If you're worried about flavor, it tastes like sour cream, but has capabilities far beyond sour cream, trust me.

Next, start on the Blueberry Curd.

Blueberry Curd

• 3 cups frozen blueberries, thawed

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 3 large eggs yolks

• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Place all the berries in a blender and process until smooth. Press berry mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl using the back of a spoon. (Skip the sieve step if you don't mind bits of blueberry "stuff" in your curd.)

2. Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in 1 cup purée, lemon juice and eggs. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter, stirring gently until butter melts.

3. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill for at least 6 hours.

This makes more than enough curd for the cheesecake, so you can half the recipe if you want to. If you do that, though, you miss out on the great perk extra curd: slathering it on toast, English muffins, and pancakes. Or ice cream. Or anything you can think of.

Now, for the crust and cheesecake.

The Cheesecake

crust

6 TB unsalted butter, softened and cut into chunks

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup AP flour

pinch of salt

filling

1 1/2 pounds (3 8oz blocks) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg yolk

2 large eggs

melted butter for greasing the pan

For the crust:

1. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and the salt and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

2. Empty the mixture into an 8-inch springform pan, and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Wash the mixer bowl and paddle.

3. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prick the chilled crust several times with a fork and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, maintaining the oven temperature at 350.

For the filling:

1. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed to break it up and soften it, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Add half the sugar and beat on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl. Beat in the remaining sugar, flour, and salt until combined, another minute. Scrape the bowl. Add the sour cream and vanilla bean, and beat for a minute. Add the yolk and beat for another minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat for a minute after each addition, scraping down the bowl and paddle as necessary. DO NOT OVERMIX, as this can lead to a cracked cheesecake.

2. Brush the sides of the cooled springform pan with melted butter. Fill a larger pan (one that can easily accommodate the 8" springform) with about 1/2" of water, then set the springform inside of this pan. (This will further prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking.) Transfer both pans onto baking sheet to catch any spills.

3. Pour the filling onto the cooled crust and bake until the cheesecake is firm around the edges and barely jiggles in the center, around 50-60 minutes. (An instant-read thermometer should register 150F.) Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 3 hours then wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 4 days.

Before you proceed with the final two layers, know that it is the point of no return. You'll need to have sufficient time to put the whole cheesecake together, because once you refrigerate the gelée, it's going to stay gelled. If you want it nice and glossy, just follow the steps, and it'll be all right.

Blueberry Gelée

1 cup (8 oz) blueberries (well drained, if frozen)

3 tablespoons water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin

1. Place all the berries in a blender and blend until smooth. Press berry mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl using the back of a spoon. (Unlike the curd, this step is certainly necessary for a glossy gelée.)

2. Sprinkle gelatin over water.

3. Place berries and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until sugar has dissolved. Now mix the gelatin into the blueberry mixture and stir until gelatin has dissolved.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Don't worry about the gelée setting up while you make the mousse. The gelée needs to be refrigerated to gel, so if you leave it at room temperature while making the mousse, it's okay.

Blueberry Mousse

8 oz fresh blueberries (well-drained if you have to use frozen)
1/2 tsp gelatin

1/4 cup caster sugar (superfine granulated)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup crème fraîche

1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Back to the blender. Place all the berries in a blender and blend until smooth. Press berry mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl using the back of a spoon. (Again, necessary for a gorgeous mousse.)

2. Place the blueberry puree, sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.

3. Sprinkle gelatin over 1 Tbsp water, and wait for it to bloom. Then, add the gelatin into the blueberry mixture.

4. Put the crème fraîche and the cream into a large mixing bowl. Whip the crème fraîche mixture until it just holds its shape, then fold the blueberry mixture into whipped mixture. (When I say fold, I mean fold. Don't stir it, or you'll start to break down the whipped mixture.)

Like the curd, this makes more than enough mousse. However, once you taste this tangy mousse, you'll want to savor it as a dessert on its own.

Now, to assemble the cheesecake.

So you have some idea of what the layered cheesecake looks like.

Assembly

1. Remove the cheesecake and curd from the fridge. Make sure they are well-chilled. Don't remove the cheesecake from the springform, otherwise you'll end up with a messy-looking cheesecake.

2. Spoon about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of curd onto the cheesecake. Use an off-set spatula to even it over the whole cheesecake. (If your cheesecake pulled away from the sides of the springform, leave about 1/2" border, so that when you cut into the cheesecake, curd doesn't go everywhere.)

3. Take the mousse, and layer on top of the curd. You fill the springform until less than 1/2" remains at the top of the pan. Again, smooth the surface with a spatula.

4. Finally, top the mousse with the gelée. Use all of it; there is just enough for a thin layer on top.

5. Refrigerate for 2 hours or so, or until everything is firm and the gelée is set and glossy.

6. When ready to serve, release springform (run a very thin knife around the edges of the cheesecake if it doesn't remove easily), and carefully lift the ring straight up, leaving the delicious cheesecake behind. If you nicked into the cheesecake with the ring, don't worry. Just smooth it out with a spatula.

Now, I don't think that I need to say this, but after all this is done, you can finally eat it! Top it with some whipped cream and fresh blueberries if you want, but, personally, I prefer to gaze at the gelée unadorned.

Ooh, look at that gloss!